Panel Paper:
Intergroup Contact and Discrimination
Saturday, March 30, 2019
Mary Graydon Center - Room 200 (American University)
*Names in bold indicate Presenter
Interactions within neighborhoods have been shown to have an effect on both short and long term outcomes. Moreover, there is evidence to show that mixing between different groups allows for less hostile attitudes towards other groups. In this paper, I examine the effect of cross caste interactions on an individual's attitudes towards caste discrimination. The context I study is the relocation of slum dwellers under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), a national level urban redevelopment program in India. Under this program, slum dwellers were randomly assigned to housing in two relocation sites within the city of Pune in India via a lottery system. I exploit the variation in neighbor composition within the new location to identify the causal effect of living next to a neighbor belonging to a different caste group on attitudes towards other social groups, in the context of general trust as well as inter caste interactions. My findings are suggestive of an affirmation of the contact hypothesis, wherein greater exposure to members of different caste and jati (sub caste) groups leads to less discriminatory attitudes.
The group I analyze are erstwhile slum dwellers, who are randomly assigned to new apartments in locations at the periphery of the city without being able to choose location of stay or location within the relocation site. Those who win the lottery get their house numbers assigned to them immediately and are asked to move in within six months of winning the lottery. I use data collected through interviews of 694 adults, on their baseline characteristics and responses to questions on attitudes. I find that individuals are less discriminatory when they have greater exposure to neighbors from different castes. They trust other-caste neighbors more and are in greater support of inter caste marriage. There is suggestive evidence to show that the extent of caste discrimination reduces when exposed to more people from different caste groups.
The group I analyze are erstwhile slum dwellers, who are randomly assigned to new apartments in locations at the periphery of the city without being able to choose location of stay or location within the relocation site. Those who win the lottery get their house numbers assigned to them immediately and are asked to move in within six months of winning the lottery. I use data collected through interviews of 694 adults, on their baseline characteristics and responses to questions on attitudes. I find that individuals are less discriminatory when they have greater exposure to neighbors from different castes. They trust other-caste neighbors more and are in greater support of inter caste marriage. There is suggestive evidence to show that the extent of caste discrimination reduces when exposed to more people from different caste groups.
