Cross-cutting cleavages and native-refugee contact
Does similarity between refugees and the local native population facilitate intergroup contact? Contact between natives and refugees has been linked to various positive outcomes such as reduced prejudice, greater minority labor market participation, language proficiency, and psychological well-being amongst refugees. However, despite the importance of these patterns, scholars have yet to fully understand how an individual's social environment influences the likelihood of intergroup contact.
Our project aims to examine whether intergroup contact between local natives and refugees in Germany is facilitated by similarities in age, gender, and marital status cutting across the focal refugee-native boundary. Building on seminal theories in sociology and social psychology (Simmel 1908, Blau and Schwartz 1984, Roccas and Brewer 2002), we hold that intergroup boundaries become more permeable when crosscut by similarities in other sociological dimensions.
We present two empirical tests of this hypothesis in the context of refugee-native contact. First, leveraging the exogeneous assignment of refugees across German counties, we examine whether refugees living in a county with a higher number of similar natives are more likely to report intergroup contact. Using the IAB-BAMF-SOEP Survey of Refugees and the German census, we find that individuals who share cross-cutting ties with a higher percentage of the local native residents do indeed report more contact with Germans.
Secondly, we generate more in-depth evidence in the context of a field experiment in several German cities. Our experiment involves posting flyers with requests from female refugees seeking German-language tandem partners on supermarket bulletin boards. We systematically vary refugees’ age profiles, and examine whether different refugees are preferred in different neighborhoods (e.g. residents predominantly composed of middle-aged families vs. young singles). We combine our experiment with a follow-up survey to directly measure whether age similarity between refugees and natives influences responses to tandem-partner requests.
Our project aims to examine whether intergroup contact between local natives and refugees in Germany is facilitated by similarities in age, gender, and marital status cutting across the focal refugee-native boundary. Building on seminal theories in sociology and social psychology (Simmel 1908, Blau and Schwartz 1984, Roccas and Brewer 2002), we hold that intergroup boundaries become more permeable when crosscut by similarities in other sociological dimensions.
We present two empirical tests of this hypothesis in the context of refugee-native contact. First, leveraging the exogeneous assignment of refugees across German counties, we examine whether refugees living in a county with a higher number of similar natives are more likely to report intergroup contact. Using the IAB-BAMF-SOEP Survey of Refugees and the German census, we find that individuals who share cross-cutting ties with a higher percentage of the local native residents do indeed report more contact with Germans.
Secondly, we generate more in-depth evidence in the context of a field experiment in several German cities. Our experiment involves posting flyers with requests from female refugees seeking German-language tandem partners on supermarket bulletin boards. We systematically vary refugees’ age profiles, and examine whether different refugees are preferred in different neighborhoods (e.g. residents predominantly composed of middle-aged families vs. young singles). We combine our experiment with a follow-up survey to directly measure whether age similarity between refugees and natives influences responses to tandem-partner requests.