(524)RACIAL COMPOSITION OF COMMUNITIES AND PARTICIPATION OF ADOLESCENTS

摘要

The investigation used the Add Health data set to examine the association between communities'composition with respect to race and participation in extracurricular school activities in secondaryeducation. Results of this analysis show that the composition of adolescents' communities matters forindividuals' participation outcomes in extracurricular school activities. The results find further supportin previous research connecting community heterogeneity to reduced propensity to participate insocial activities including education (Alesina and La Ferrara 2000). The findings support the previouslydiscussed argument that the effect of composition is stronger in groups or activities where interactionbetween individuals is likely to be more frequent. This is also in line with the idea that individuals havea preference to interact with similar types (Jackson 2009). This research opens many avenues forfurther research. Of particular interest would be to examine the role of frequency or the intensity ofinteractions in determining participation decisions. In this paper the role of communities' racialcomposition in determining participation outcomes is examined. Adolescents' participation is likely toinfluence network formation and to have a positive impact on other outcomes linked to human capital,development of social skills and social capital. This research provides evidence suggesting that racialcomposition of communities affects adolescents' participation in school extracurricular activities. Thisresearch carefully addresses problems related to sorting within communities and selection intoschools.