Gordon B. Dahl

Diversity and Discrimination in Classroom Environments

Gordon Dahl is collaborating with Helmut Rainer and others to explore what makes diversity unifying in some settings but divisive in others. In their study, they examine how the mixing of ethnic groups in German schools affects intergroup cooperation and trust. They leverage the quasi-random assignment of students to classrooms within schools to obtain variation in the type of diversity that prevails in a peer group. They then combine this with a large-scale, incentivized lab-in-field-experiment based on the investment game, allowing them to assess the in-group bias of native German students in their interactions with fellow natives (in-group) versus immigrants (out-group). Their research finds that in-group bias peaks in culturally polarized classrooms, where the native and immigrant groups are both large, but have different religious or language backgrounds. In contrast, in classrooms characterized by non-cultural polarization, fractionalization, or a native supermajority, there are significantly lower levels of own-group favoritism. These findings suggest that extra efforts are needed to counteract low levels of inclusivity and trust in culturally polarized environments.

Mr. Dahl’s research interests are in labor economics and applied microeconomics, with work that often addresses public policy questions affecting families. He has explored the subtle biases parents have for sons versus daughters, the effect of unexpected emotional cues on intimate partner violence, and the effect of schooling on cognitive skills. Another line of research asks the question of whether there are intergenerational links in welfare use. During his stay, Mr. Dahl will continue to work with Helmut Rainer and others at CES and the ifo Institute on the links between diversity and discrimination in classroom environments.

Gordon Dahl is a Professor of Economics at the University of California, San Diego, and was previously a faculty member at the University of Rochester. He is also an Affiliated Professor at the Norwegian School of Economics, a Research Professor at the ifo Institute, a CESifo Research Fellow and Area Director for Labor Economics of the Network, a NBER Research Associate, a CEPR Research Fellow, an IZA Research Fellow, and a Fellow of the Stanford Center for the Study of Poverty and Inequality. He received his PhD from Princeton University and his BA from Brigham Young University.