TY  - RPRT
        AU  - Cameron, Lisa A.
AU  - Erkal, Nisvan
AU  - Gangadharan, Lata
AU  - Zhang, Marina
        TI  - Cultural Integration: Experimental Evidence of Changes in Immigrants' Preferences
        PY  - 2012/Apr/
        PB  - Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
        CY  - Bonn
        T2  - IZA Discussion Paper
        IS  - 6467
        UR  - https://www.iza.org/index.php/publications/dp6467
        AB  - Cultural traits play a significant role in the determination of economic outcomes and institutions. This paper presents evidence from laboratory experiments on the cultural integration of individuals of Chinese ethnicity in Australia, focusing on social preferences, preferences for competition, and risk attitudes. We show that the greater the share of education an individual receives in the West, the more they behave like Western subjects and the less they behave according to the norms of their Eastern heritage. Increased exposure to Western education has a strong negative impact on altruism, trust, and trustworthiness. For risk and competitive preferences, our results are gender-specific. These results have important implications for policy making and institution building in multi-cultural societies.
        KW  - acculturation
KW  - cultural assimilation
KW  - cultural diversity
KW  - cultural transmission
KW  - cultural integration
KW  - immigration
KW  - social preferences
KW  - preferences for competition
KW  - risk aversion
        ER  -