MNcontact asks the following two research questions:

1. How has increased migration changed the ethnic composition of families, primary/secondary schools and workplaces in Denmark?
2. How does the ethnic composition of families, primary/secondary schools and workplaces affect levels of tolerance, trust, and solidarity?

MNcontact answers the questions by means of unique Danish register data and linked register-survey data. Thereby MNcontact moves beyond the question about neighborhood segregation, which has dominated the field. MNcontact also advances the field with new ways of establishing causality; i.e. addressing the potential problem with the self-selection of the most tolerance and trusting into contact.

The theoretical point of departure for MNcontact is sociological network theory about homophily and social psychological theory about prejudices and contact-effects. One of the most basic observations of sociological network studies is widespread homophily. Persons tend to have contact with others of the same ethnicity, education, profession, age and religion, which both has a structural side caused by limited opportunities pools facing the individual (baseline homophily) and a more voluntary side caused by a preference for similarity (inbreeding homophily) (McPherson, Smith-Lovin, & Cook, 2001). At the same time, one of the most basic observations of social psychological research is that humans tend to create strong in-group and out-group divides. A number of Trajfel’s classic experiments showed that even humans randomly assigned to subgroups (with participants being aware of the randomization) quickly establish positive in-group and negative outgroup perceptions (Tajfel, 1981). In combination, the two strands of literature lead to the prediction that prejudices across groups divided by ethnicity is a potential risk for all societies (see Singh & vom Hau, 2016 for an overview).

MNcontact will supplement the descriptions of ethnic segregation of neighborhoods with detailed descriptions of ethnic segregation in families, primary/secondary schools and workplaces. One of the expected findings is that increased level of immigration in Denmark is followed by a pattern of increased diversity in families, schools, and workplaces and not by a pattern of general segregation. This is believed to be of pivotal importance for a political elite and a public, who, primarily based on indicators of neighborhood segregation, have come to the conclusion that migrants live in “parallel societies”. However, MNcontact also has the potential to find subgroups of distinct ethnic minorities that live in segregated families, attend segregated schools and work in segregated workplaces.

We also expect MNcontact to find subgroups of natives that never have experienced ethnic diversity in families, schools, and workplaces. MNcontact will supplement the descriptions of ethnic segregation of neighborhoods with detailed descriptions of ethnic segregation in families, primary/secondary schools and workplaces. One of the expected findings is that increased level of immigration in Denmark is followed by a pattern of increased diversity in families, schools, and workplaces and not by a pattern of general segregation. This is believed to be of pivotal importance for a political elite and a public, who, primarily based on indicators of neighborhood segregation, have come to the conclusion that migrants live in “parallel societies”. However, MNcontact also has the potential to find subgroups of distinct ethnic minorities that live in segregated families, attend segregated schools and work in segregated workplaces. We also expect MNcontact to find subgroups of natives that never have experienced ethnic diversity in families, schools, and workplaces.