The Review of Economics and Statistics Vol. 97 No. 1 2015
On the Blurring of the Color Line: Wages and Employment for Black Males of Different Skin Tones
Abstract
We evaluate the role skin color plays in earnings and employment for black males in the NLSY97. By applying a novel, scaled measure of skin tone to a nationally representative sample and by estimating the evolution of labor market differentials over time, we bridge a burgeoning literature on skin color with more established literatures on wage differentials and labor market discrimination. We find that while intraracial wage gaps widen with experience, gaps between the lightest-skinned black workers and whites remain constant, suggesting that a blurring of the color line elicits subtle yet meaningful variation in earnings differentials over time.
- DOI
- 10.1162/rest_a_00464
- Volume
- 97
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 1-13
- Language
- en
- Sources
- openalex crossref