Politically

The findings highlight the importance of addressing negative stereotypes and enhancing information flow to reduce bias in diversifying Europe. 9/9

The study, thus, suggests that negative expectations toward minorities stem less from sticky ethnic attributes and more from the social and cultural factors associated with them. 8/9

Theoretically

Ethnic bias in expectations operates through multiple complementary channels related to
➡️ minorities’ ressources and ‘abilities to pay’
➡️ the degree to which cultural values are (assumed to be) shared, and
➡️ compliance with socially agreed-upon norms. 7/9

Findings #2

However, this ethnic bias diminishes when information on individuals’ socio-economic status, cultural values, or norm compliance is available. When all three factors are accounted for, the expectation gap disappears. 6/9

Findings #1

The ethnic majority in Denmark initially expects individuals with Middle Eastern names to contribute 9.2% less to public goods than individuals with Danish names. 5/9

In an innovative conjoint experimental design in DK, the study manipulated participants’ information about hypothetical individuals who engaged in a public goods game.

The design provides a good measure of expectations and, importantly, enables to causally test the different mechanisms. 4/9

I argue that ethnicity operates as a bundled signal for people's socioeconomic resources, cultural alignment, and norm compliance.

The main argument: It is these factors, not ethnicity per se, that explain negative expectations toward minorities' cooperation and contribution. 3/9

Negative expectations toward minorities often fuel social division and undermine public goods provision. But what drives these biases? 2/9

Thank you so much for you and Wilmas awesome review! 🙏🙏

Feel free to reach out to get access to the article at matkr@ps.au.dk.

9/9

Conclusion

The study points to the complex nature of intergroup integration but at the same time suggests that local settings with some minority members may foster minorities’ wellbeing without substantively reducing the well-being of the ethnic majority. 8/9

For minority students, having similar peers increases well-being by promoting feelings of acceptance and belonging and reducing loneliness.

For majority students, a substantial share of out-group peers reduces well-being in particular by generating a dissatisfaction with the local environment. 7/9

These effects are driven by different theoretical mechanisms:

6/9