Learning About Diversity in Healthcare Institutions Reduces Prejudice: Evidence from the COVID-19 Crises in Israel and the U.S.

Abstract

Can information about ethnic diversity in public institutions shape intergroup relations? To answer this question, I develop a theory of prejudice reduction through institutional diversity. I suggest that learning about the presence of minorities in public institutions can reduce prejudice by providing majority group members with novel information regarding the out-group, and their role in society. To test my theory, I implemented a survey experiment in Israel, further replicated in the U.S., during the first outburst of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the experiment, treated respondents were informed about the share of minorities (Arab/Muslim) employed in healthcare institutions. Results from Israel suggest that information about minority representation in healthcare institutions reduces prejudice and promotes preferences for political inclusion in a similar magnitude to about a one-unit leftward-shift on a seven-point ideology scale. Similar, albeit more moderate patterns emerge from the U.S. These findings emphasize how institutions and the people embedded within them can shape intergroup relations.