From Dark to Light Skin Color and Wages Among African-Americans Goldsmith, Arthur H., Darrick Hamilton, and William Darity, Jr., Journal of Human Resources, 42(4), pp

The Preference for Whiteness Hypothesis Social categorization is a fundamental cognitive process leading to in-groups and out-groups. Out-groups are exposed to prejudice and in-group members receive preferential treatment.

In the U.S., whiteness is a defining attribute of the in-group. Possessing characteristics of the white in- group in the form of skin shade may lead to preferential treatment of light-skinned relative to darker-skinned African- Americans. >>> Earnings will be related to the lightness of skin color, not just race.

Primary Questions Do light-skinned African-Americans earn more relative to whites than dark- skinned African-Americans? Among African-Americans, are there wage differences by skin shade?

Data Multi-City Study of Urban Inequality (MCSUI) Authors’ sample: 948 Black and White Working Men Aged 19-65, Interviewer/individual race match. Interviewers trained to establish consistency in identifying skin shade. National Survey of Black Americans (NSBA) 331 Black Working Men Aged 19-65,

Mean of the Hourly Wage (MCSU) White$15.94 Light Black Medium Black Dark Black 11.72

Dummy Variable Method Traditional Model W = b 1 + b 2 RACE + … RACE = 1 if individual is African-American = 0 if white. b 2 < 0 is evidence of discrimination vs. blacks. b 2 > 0 is evidence of discrimination vs. whites. b 2 = 0 is evidence of no discrimination.

“Rainbow” Model W = b 1 + b 2 Light Black + b 3 Medium Black + b 4 Dark Black + … where skin shade variables are dummy variables. b2 < 0, b3 < 0, and b4 < 0 is evidence of discrimination vs. light-skinned, medium dark- skinned, or dark-skinned blacks, respectively. |b2| < |b3| and |b2| < |b4| is evidence that light- skinned blacks face less discrimination than medium dark and dark skinned blacks.

Control Variables Human Capital: education, job tenure, disability Workplace Characteristics: union status, firm size, supervise others, work part-time Demographic Characteristics: age, married, number of dependents, foreign resident at 16 years of age Family Characteristics when Young: raised by both parents, mother high school grad, father high school grad

Percent of Earnings Less than Whites by Skin Shade 1 All Blacks 15.5 % Results Dummy Variable Method Light Black 7.6 Medium Black 16.6 Dark Black Controlling for human capital, workplace, and demographic variables.

Component due to Component Group Productivity Unexplained All Blacks Results Oaxaca Wage Decomposition Technique 1 Light Black Medium Black Dark Black Controlling for human capital, workplace, and demographic variables.

Conclusion Skin shade matters. Estimates indicate that light-skinned African-Americans earn more relative to whites than dark-skinned African- Americans. The black-white dichotomy used in labor economics yields misleading results. The theory of the preference for whiteness is consistent with the results.