UEH Events

• 26 May
• 2025

CELG Seminar Gaming for Cohesion: A Study on Integrating Refugees Through Virtual Intergroup Contact

The College of Economics, Law and Government would like to respectfully invite lecturers/ researchers to come and share your experiences at the CELG seminar:

+ Topic: Gaming for Cohesion: A Study on Integrating Refugees Through Virtual Intergroup Contact

+ Presenter: Prof. Keisaku Higashida, Kwansei Gakuin University

+ Time: 11 AM, Monday, May 26, 2025

+ Location: B1-1001, UEH Campus B, 279 Nguyen Tri Phuong, District 10

This paper investigates the effects of intergroup contact in a virtual environment on social cohesion between ingroups and outgroups. By leveraging a virtual setting and using computerbots, we provide causal evidence on the heterogeneous effects of intergroup contact based on perceived outgroup performance levels. Developing an original gaming application, we conducted a nationwide pre-registered randomized controlled trial in Bangladesh, where Bangladeshi participants interacted virtually with Rohingya. We found that virtual interactions with Rohingya of similar or lower performance fostered cohesion by reducing hostility, improving attitudes, and motivating in-person interaction. However, interactions with higher-performing Rohingya enhanced beliefs about their abilities but did not lead to social cohesion.

About presenter:

Keisaku Higashida is a professor in the School of Economics at Kwansei Gakuin University. He earned his Ph.D. in Economics from the Hitotsubashi University in 2003. Professor Higashida has received the Kojima Kiyoshi Prize for Excellent Papers in 2006, the Oda Prize, 2015, and the Kojima Kiyoshi Prize in 2024 from the Japan Society of International Economics (JSIE). He is a board member of JSIE and the Japan International Fisheries Research Society (JIFRS). His research expertise covers international economics, environmental and resource economics, and industrial organization. The main research topics are (i) international trade and the environment, (ii) voluntary resource management, (iii) impacts of refugee influx, (iv) information dissemination and advertising. He has published several articles in leading academic journals including Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, International Journal of Industrial Organization, Canadian Journal of Economics, Economica, and Journal of Economics & Management Strategy.

To receive CELG seminar information, please fill out this form: https://go.ueh.edu.vn/CELGseminarinformation