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Latino Phenotypic Discrimination Revisited: The Impact of Skin Color on Occupational Status

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  • Rodolfo Espino
  • Michael M. Franz

Abstract

Objective. We reexamine the issue of phenotypic discrimination against Mexicans in the U.S. labor market, originally studied by Telles and Murguia (1990) and later by Bohara and Davila (1992). We also seek to explain this topic with respect to the Puerto Rican and Cuban populations in the United States. Methods. Instead of using household income as a dependent variable, we use occupational ranking scores computed by Hauser and Warren (1996) in combination with data from the 1990 Latino National Political Survey (LNPS). The occupational rankings more accurately reflect the level of labor market discrimination faced by individuals. Furthermore, the use of the more recent LNPS allows us to update the work of previous scholars and extend the analysis to two previously unexamined Latino groups—Puerto Ricans and Cubans. Results. Our findings indicate that darker‐skinned Mexicans and Cubans face significantly lower occupational prestige scores than their lighter‐skinned counterparts even when controlling for factors that influence performance in the labor market. However, we find no conclusive evidence that skin‐color differences impact occupational prestige scores for Puerto Ricans. Conclusions. Using earlier data, some scholars found evidence for difference in labor market performance among Mexican Americans as a function of phenotypic variations among Mexican Americans. Today, dark‐skinned Mexican Americans and Cuban Americans continue to face higher levels of discrimination in the labor market, whereas dark‐skinned Puerto Ricans do not, which may indicate regional differences across the three groups that need to be controlled for.

Suggested Citation

  • Rodolfo Espino & Michael M. Franz, 2002. "Latino Phenotypic Discrimination Revisited: The Impact of Skin Color on Occupational Status," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 83(2), pages 612-623, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:socsci:v:83:y:2002:i:2:p:612-623
    DOI: 10.1111/1540-6237.00104
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    Cited by:

    1. Raymundo M. Campos-Vazquez & Eduardo M. Medina-Cortina, 2019. "Skin Color and Social Mobility: Evidence From Mexico," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 56(1), pages 321-343, February.
    2. Hersch, Joni, 2024. "Colorism and Immigrant Earnings in the United States, 2015–2024," IZA Discussion Papers 17397, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Jennifer Tabler & Matthew Painter, 2023. "Skin Tone, Racial/Ethnic, and Gender Differences in Self-Reported Mental and Physical Health among U.S. Lawful Permanent Resident Immigrants," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 24(1), pages 249-269, March.
    4. Joni Hersch, 2008. "Profiling the New Immigrant Worker: The Effects of Skin Color and Height," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 26(2), pages 345-386, April.
    5. JooHee Han, 2020. "Does Skin Tone Matter? Immigrant Mobility in the U.S. Labor Market," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 57(2), pages 705-726, April.
    6. René Alejandro Rejón Piña & Chenglong Ma, 2023. "Classification Algorithm for Skin Color (CASCo): A new tool to measure skin color in social science research," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 104(2), pages 168-179, March.
    7. Ben Anderson & Garrett Bird & Richard Kornrumpf & Maria Macaluso & Natasha Mundkur & Madison Swingholm & Jason Gainous, 2020. "Ethnic Cues, Latino Skin Tone, and Voter Preferences: An Experimental Test," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 101(5), pages 1920-1935, September.
    8. Randall Akee & Mutlu Yuksel, 2012. "The Decreasing Effect of Skin Tone on Women's Full-Time Employment," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 65(2), pages 398-426, April.
    9. Patrick L. Mason & James B. Stewart & William A. Darity, 2022. "Collective wealth and group identity: insights from stratification economics," Review of Evolutionary Political Economy, Springer, vol. 3(3), pages 463-491, October.
    10. Richard R. Verdugo & David A. Swanson, 2022. "The Mexican‐American worker: Assimilation, bias, and discrimination, 1940–2019," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 103(6), pages 1401-1423, November.
    11. Mason, Patrick L., 2004. "Annual income, hourly wages, and identity Among Mexican Americans and other Latinos," MPRA Paper 11326, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Jessica Inocencio-Gray & Dianna L. Stone, 2013. "The Relations Between Race, Differences in Cultural Values, and Experienced Discrimination of Immigrants in the U.S," Working Papers 0224mgt, College of Business, University of Texas at San Antonio.
    13. Vanessa Gonlin, 2022. "Mixed-Race Ancestry ≠ Multiracial Identification: The Role Racial Discrimination, Linked Fate, and Skin Tone Have on the Racial Identification of People with Mixed-Race Ancestry," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-21, April.

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