Interethnic Relationships in Contemporary Communities: How Does Ethnic Diversity Affect Solidarity and Cooperation?

The increasingly multiethnic nature of modern societies has spurred academic interest in the consequences of diversity. Recently, social scientists have linked ethnoracial diversity to undesirable outcomes, most notably, low levels of social capital, civic engagement, and cooperation. In my presentation, I challenge the current focus on “diversity” and invite scholars to rethink “social capital” in complex societies. Moving beyond observational data, I introduce innovative field-experimental approaches that can be used to investigate the micro-level dynamics through which contact promotes or impedes cooperation in diverse communities. In particular, I will present results from a nationwide lost letter experiment and from a novel cooperative investment game.