Can ethnic diversity have a positive effect on school achievement?

This study investigates the impact of ethnic diversity on test scores, on top of the effect of the share of non-native pupils. We use a rich survey of Dutch primary school students and exploit variations be- tween subsequent cohorts within the same school as our identification strategy. We find that ethnic diversity has a positive impact on the test scores of minority students, in particular for language skills. We also find some evidence of a negative relationship between ethnic di- diversity and school social integration. We suggest that ethnic diversity stimulates language proficiency and increases the time students spend studying.JRC.B.2-Fiscal Policy Analysi