• Patterns of cooperation among individuals from different social groups who live and work in close proximity

• Better governance
  • Adherence to norms and laws
• Sustainable peace
  • Identity as a cleavage
  • Cooperation on peace agreements

• Social contact promots cohesion
  • Cooperation on shared goal
  • Social equality
  • Socially endorsed

What is the context?

• Post-war Iraq
• Rigid inter-ethnic cleavages

• Randomly assigning Christian teams to have three muslim players

What is the design?

• Block randomization on baseline perceived commonality

• On-the-field
• Off-the-field

Domain

• Behavioral
• Attitudinal

• Improved behavior towards Muslim teammates
• No improvement in generalizable behavior
• No improvements in attitudes toward Muslims

Exploratory findings

• Strong effects among successful teams
• Improved generalizable behaviors across the league
• Improved generalizable attitudes of exposed residents

• Contact works, but in a narrow way
  • We can improve people’s treatment of those they have contact with, but it doesn’t generalize
  • This necessarily limits the potential impact
• We can reduce discrimination without attitude change
  • Creating personal ties can facilitate trade, negotiation, etc.

• Contact can create societal change through social diffusion

Mechanisms for diffusion

• Changing norms
• Knowledge of positive contact

Grant program for conflict-affected villages

• Mixed-group committees deciding on resource allocation
• Mediation training
• Forums to discuss conflict
• Publicly visible cooperation

Design

• Village-level random assignment