Citation
Fryer, Roland G., Jr. & Torelli, Paul (2005). An empirical analysis of 'acting white'. National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series. vol. No. 11334Abstract
There is a debate among social scientists regarding the existence of a peer externality commonly referred to as 'acting white.' Using a newly available data set (the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health), which allows one to construct an objective measure of a student's popularity, we demonstrate that there are large racial differences in the relationship between popularity and academic achievement; our (albeit narrow) definition of 'acting white.' The effect is intensified among high achievers and in schools with more interracial contact, but non-existent among students in predominantly black schools or private schools. The patterns in the data appear most consistent with a two-audience signaling model in which investments in education are thought to be indicative of an individual's opportunity costs of peer group loyalty. Other models we consider, such as self-sabotage among black youth or the presence of an oppositional culture, all contradict the data in important ways.URL
http://www.nber.org/papers/w11334Notes
Author contact info: Roland G. Fryer Jr Department of Economics Harvard University Littauer Center 208 Cambridge, MA 02138 Tel: 617/495-9592 Fax: 617/495-8570 E-Mail: rolandfryer@edlabs.harvard.edu Paul Torelli E-Mail: torelli@nber.orgReference Type
Journal ArticleJournal Title
National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper SeriesAuthor(s)
Fryer, Roland G., Jr.Torelli, Paul