Study Says Skin Tone Affects Earnings By TRAVIS LOLLER Associated Press Writer NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Light-skinned immigrants in the United States make more money on average than those with darker complexions, and the chief reason appears to be discrimination, a researcher says. Joni Hersch, a law and economics professor at Vanderbilt University, looked at a government survey of 2,084 legal immigrants to the United States from around the world and found that those with the lightest skin earned an average of 8 percent to 15 percent more than similar immigrants with much darker skin. "On average, being one shade lighter has about the same effect as having an additional year of education," Hersch said. The study also found that taller immigrants earn more than shorter ones, with an extra inch of height associated with a 1 percent increase in income. Other researchers said the findings are consistent with other studies on color and point to a skin-tone prejudice that goes beyond race. Hersch took into consideration other factors that could affect wages, such as English-language proficiency, education, occupation, race or country of origin, and found that skin tone still seemed to make a difference in earnings. That means that if two similar immigrants from Bangladesh, for example, came to the United States at the same time, with the same occupation and ability to speak English, the lighter-skinned immigrant would make more money on average. "I thought that once we controlled for race and nationality, I expected the difference to go away, but even with people from the same country, the same race - skin color really matters," she said, "and height." Although many cultures show a bias toward lighter skin, Hersch said her analysis shows that the skin-color advantage was not due to preferential treatment for light-skinned people in their country of origin. The bias, she said, occurs in the U.S. Economics professor Shelley White-Means of the University of Tennessee at Memphis said the study adds to the growing body of evidence that there is a "preference for whiteness" in America that goes beyond race. Hersch drew her data from a 2003 federal survey of nearly 8,600 new immigrants. The survey used an 11-point scale for measuring skin tone, in which 0 represents an absence of color and 10 the darkest possible skin tone. From those nearly 8,600 participants, she focused on the more than 2,000 who were working and whose skin tone had been recorded during face-to-face interviews. William Darity Jr., an economics professor at the University of North Carolina, said Hersch's findings are similar to a study he co-authored last year on skin tone and wages among blacks. "We estimate that dark- or medium-skinned blacks suffered a discriminatory penalty of anywhere from 10 percent to 15 percent relative to whites," he said. "This suggests people cue into appearance and draw inferences about capabilities and skills based on how they look." Darity said it is not clear whether the bias is conscious or subconscious. Hersch said her findings, which will be presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science next month in San Francisco, could support discrimination lawsuits based not on race, but on color. "There are very few color discrimination suits, but they are on the rise," she said. "But these suits can be hard to prove." (SUBS graf 6 to correct name spelling, Hersch sted Hersh. ) © 2007 The Associated Press.
Wow, I could have told you this. It make sense though, because whiteness is valued in this country and the closer you are to white the better you're perceived to be.
Sex affects earnings as well. I suppose if you happen to be dark skinned and female, you're screwed. D&D. Equality is More than a Word.
Sadly, if you have those qualifications and want to earn a promotion, that's what you'll probably have to wind up doing in some places.
IT just isn't true. We all know that everything is equal now, and based on merit. We got rid of all that bad stuff long ago. That's why any type of affirmative action isn't necessary because the playing fields are so level now.
Well, people like to mingle with people that looks similar. This country is run by the whites at this point. Therefore if you are white, you should have more to gain from your social life. Throw a whitie to Africa and China and you will see that he/she will have a hard time there. But than a whitie in China should still fare better than a black because of whitie's reputation around the world.
I wasn't aware that Trader_J knew anything about the social graces, or the ability to articulate one's thoughts well. Perhaps it is a simple question about a subject of which he knows nothing. Give the fellow a break. D&D. Are We Losing Touch?
Skin color may be a good measure of whiteness when a person's look is similar to that of a white person. For eastern asians though, they look different no matter how white their skins are. So skin color is not a good measure for eastern asians. They are not white, period. Is my understanding correct?
I do think T_J has a point. However, controlling for these things might be difficult as the biases of the authors come into play. Might they give a darker complected person a lower score because of his skin color?
I'm not sure I agree with your rather controversial stance there, but what I'm saying is that it's virtually impossible to control for all of the interfering variables in a study such as this. As a result, I really don't give it much credibility. There exists too great of a possibility for spurious correlations and insufficient data sets.
nice try taking my post out of context by leaving off my question mark. social skills have nothing to do with it. dark skinned people made less according to this study. What other factors can you blame? Maybe the lighting was too dark? rich people have shinier skin so they look whiter?
How can one possibly adjust for personality in this study? Take for instance, Rocket River. He is college educated, but can't spell or use grammar to save his life. Would I pay him less than another college educated person? Yes, I would.
