The Gendered Impacts of Perceived Skin Tone: Evidence from African-American Siblings in 1870–1940

84 Pages Posted: 8 Mar 2023 Last revised: 21 Mar 2023

See all articles by Ran Abramitzky

Ran Abramitzky

Stanford University

Jacob Conway

Stanford University

Roy Mill

Independent

Luke C.D. Stein

Babson College

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: March 20, 2023

Abstract

We study differences in economic outcomes by perceived skin tone among African Americans using full-count U.S. decennial census data from the late-19th and early-20th centuries. Comparing children coded as "Black" or "Mulatto" by census enumerators and linking these children across population censuses, we first document large gaps in educational attainment and income among African Americans with darker and lighter perceived skin tones. To disentangle the drivers of these gaps, we identify all 36,329 families in which enumerators assigned same-gender siblings different Black/Mulatto classifications. Relative to sisters coded as Mulatto, sisters coded as Black had lower educational attainment, were less likely to marry, and had lower-earning, less-educated husbands. These patterns are consistent with more severe contemporaneous discrimination against African-American women with darker perceived skin tones. In contrast, we find similar educational attainment, marital outcomes, and incomes among differently-classified brothers. Men perceived as African Americans of any skin tone faced similar contemporaneous discrimination, consistent with the "one-drop" racial classification rule that grouped together individuals with any known Black ancestry. Lower incomes for African-American men perceived as having darker skin tone in the general population were driven by differences in opportunities and resources that varied across families, likely reflecting the impacts of historical or family-level discrimination.

Keywords: perceived skin tone,discrimination,siblings,race,economic history,gender

JEL Classification: N3,J1,J7,D1,Z13

Suggested Citation

Abramitzky, Ran and Conway, Jacob and Mill, Roy and Stein, Luke C.D., The Gendered Impacts of Perceived Skin Tone: Evidence from African-American Siblings in 1870–1940 (March 20, 2023). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4355903 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4355903

Ran Abramitzky

Stanford University ( email )

Stanford, CA 94305
United States

Jacob Conway (Contact Author)

Stanford University ( email )

Roy Mill

Independent

Luke C.D. Stein

Babson College ( email )

Tomasso Hall
231 Forest Street
Babson Park, MA 02457-0310
United States
781-239-5060 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://lukestein.com

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