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Shedding "light" on marriage: The influence of skin shade on marriage for black females

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  • Hamilton, Darrick
  • Goldsmith, Arthur H.
  • Darity Jr., William

Abstract

The inter-racial marriage gap that opened in the past 50 years is generally attributed to a decline in the availability of young black marriageable men. We contend that the associated shortage of desirable men in the marriage market provides those black men who are sought after with the opportunity to attain a high status spouse, which has placed a premium on black women with lighter skin. We provide evidence, based on data drawn from the Multi City Study of Urban Inequality, consistent with this hypothesis. Our theoretical analysis of the marriage market reveals that marriage promotion policies to increase the desire to marry on the part of young black women will serve to exacerbate the importance attached to skin shade.

Suggested Citation

  • Hamilton, Darrick & Goldsmith, Arthur H. & Darity Jr., William, 2009. "Shedding "light" on marriage: The influence of skin shade on marriage for black females," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 72(1), pages 30-50, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:72:y:2009:i:1:p:30-50
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    2. Carvalho, J.R. & de Oliveira, V.H. & Ferreira Soares, S.P., 2023. "Skin Color Gap within Couples and Intimate Partner Violence in Northeast, Brazil: Evidence from the PCSVDFMulher," Health, Econometrics and Data Group (HEDG) Working Papers 23/01, HEDG, c/o Department of Economics, University of York.
    3. Cruz Bueno, 2015. "Stratification Economics and Grassroots Development: The Case of Low–Income Black Women Workers in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic," The Review of Black Political Economy, Springer;National Economic Association, vol. 42(1), pages 35-55, June.
    4. Timothy Diette & Arthur Goldsmith & Darrick Hamilton & William Darity, 2015. "Skin Shade Stratification and the Psychological Cost of Unemployment: Is there a Gradient for Black Females?," The Review of Black Political Economy, Springer;National Economic Association, vol. 42(1), pages 155-177, June.
    5. Manuel Hermosilla & Fernanda Gutiérrez-Navratil & Juan Prieto-Rodríguez, 2018. "Can Emerging Markets Tilt Global Product Design? Impacts of Chinese Colorism on Hollywood Castings," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 37(3), pages 356-381, May.
    6. Marcos Rangel, 2015. "Is Parental Love Colorblind? Human Capital Accumulation within Mixed Families," The Review of Black Political Economy, Springer;National Economic Association, vol. 42(1), pages 57-86, June.
    7. Green, Tiffany L. & Hamilton, Tod G., 2013. "Beyond black and white: Color and mortality in post-reconstruction era North Carolina," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 148-159.
    8. 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.
    9. Grossbard, Shoshana & Gimenez-Nadal, José Ignacio & Molina, José Alberto, 2010. "Racial Discrimination and Household Chores," IZA Discussion Papers 5345, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. T. Jerome Utley & William Darity, 2016. "India’s Color Complex: One Day’s Worth of Matrimonials," The Review of Black Political Economy, Springer;National Economic Association, vol. 43(2), pages 129-138, June.

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