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Integrating Minorities in the Classroom: The Role of Students, Parents, and Teachers

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  • Alexandra de Gendre
  • Krzysztof Karbownik
  • Nicolás Salamanca
  • Yves Zenou

Abstract

We develop a multi-agent model of the education production function where investments of students, parents, and teachers are linked to the presence of minorities in the classroom. We then test the key implications of this model using rich survey data and a mandate to randomly assign students to classrooms. Consistent with our model, we show that exposure to minority peers decreases student effort, parental investments, and teacher engagement and it results in lower student test scores. Observables correlated with minority status explain less than a third of the reduced-form test score effect while over a third can be descriptively attributed to endogenous responses of the agents.

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  • Alexandra de Gendre & Krzysztof Karbownik & Nicolás Salamanca & Yves Zenou, 2024. "Integrating Minorities in the Classroom: The Role of Students, Parents, and Teachers," NBER Working Papers 32429, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:32429
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    JEL classification:

    • D13 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Production and Intrahouse Allocation
    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions
    • I26 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Returns to Education

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