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American Economic Review Vol. 104 No. 5 2014

Race and Marriage in the Labor Market: A Discrimination Correspondence Study in a Developing Country

Eva O. Arceo-Gomez1; Raymundo M. Campos-Vazquez2

1 Economics Department, Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas, Carretera México Toluca 3655, Col. Lomas de Santa Fe, México D.F., 01210 () · 2 Economics Department, El Colegio de México, Camino al Ajusco 20, Col. Pedregal de Santa Teresa, México D.F., C.P. 10740 ()

open access

Abstract

In Mexico, as in most Latin American countries with indigenous populations, it is commonly believed that European phenotypes are preferred to mestizo or indigenous phenotypes. However, it is hard to test for such racial biases in the labor market using official statistics since race can only be inferred from native language. The experiment consisted on sending fictitious curriculums responding to job advertisements with randomized information of the applicants. The resumes included photographs representing three distinct phenotypes: Caucasian, mestizo, and indigenous. We find that indigenous looking females are discriminated against, but the effect is not present for males.

DOI
10.1257/aer.104.5.376
Volume
104
Issue
5
Pages
376-380
Language
en
Sources
bibtex:phds-export.bib openalex crossref

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