Exploring the difference: Immigrant peers and the imagination of natives

Abstract

Using data for the United States, we explore how interactions with immigrants during school age affect imagination during adulthood for native children. The analysis uses The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health survey and focuses on the impact of differences in the number of immigrants across cohorts within schools. Results suggest that exposure to immigrant classmates has positive effects on the long-term imagination of natives. Increasing the number of immigrants in the grade by 20 students, would increase the likelihood of reporting a high level of imagination during adulthood by three percentage points. We suggest that the effect is not coming via direct friendship with immigrant students, but through increasing exposure to diverse ideas and experiences.