IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/socsci/v104y2023i2p168-179.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Classification Algorithm for Skin Color (CASCo): A new tool to measure skin color in social science research

Author

Listed:
  • René Alejandro Rejón Piña
  • Chenglong Ma

Abstract

Objective A growing body of literature reveals that skin color has significant effects on people's income, health, education, and employment. However, the ways in which skin color has been measured in empirical research have been criticized for being inaccurate, if not subjective and biased. Objective Introduce an objective, automatic, accessible and customizable Classification Algorithm for Skin Color (CASCo). Methods We review the methods traditionally used to measure skin color (verbal scales, visual aids or color palettes, photo elicitation, spectrometers and image‐based algorithms), noting their shortcomings. We highlight the need for a different tool to measure skin color Results We present CASCo, a (social researcher‐friendly) Python library that uses face detection, skin segmentation and k‐means clustering algorithms to determine the skin tone category of portraits. Conclusion After assessing the merits and shortcomings of all the methods available, we argue CASCo is well equipped to overcome most challenges and objections posed against its alternatives. While acknowledging its limitations, we contend that CASCo should complement researchers. toolkit in this area.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
  • Handle: RePEc:bla:socsci:v:104:y:2023:i:2:p:168-179
    DOI: 10.1111/ssqu.13242
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/ssqu.13242
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/ssqu.13242?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. 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.
    2. 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.
    3. Loveman, Mara, 2014. "National Colors: Racial Classification and the State in Latin America," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199337361, Decembrie.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. 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.
    2. 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.
    3. 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.
    4. 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.
    5. 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.
    6. Nakabayashi, Masaki, 2011. "Schooling, employer learning, and internal labor market effect: Wage dynamics and human capital investment in the Japanese steel industry, 1930-1960s," MPRA Paper 30597, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Daniel Hamermesh, 2012. "Tall or taller, pretty or prettier: is discrimination absolute or relative?," IZA Journal of Labor Economics, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 1(1), pages 1-17, December.
    8. Elif S. Filiz, 2022. "Does it Payoff to be Blond in a Non-Blond Neighborhood? Eye Color, Hair Color, Ethnic Composition and Starting Wages," Eastern Economic Journal, Palgrave Macmillan;Eastern Economic Association, vol. 48(1), pages 122-146, January.
    9. Mason, Patrick L., 2004. "Annual income, hourly wages, and identity Among Mexican Americans and other Latinos," MPRA Paper 11326, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Cai, Zhengyu & Maguire, Karen & Winters, John V., 2019. "Who benefits from local oil and gas employment? Labor market composition in the oil and gas industry in Texas and the rest of the United States," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    11. Rohini Somanathan, 2016. "Group Inequality in Democracies: Lessons from Cross-National Experiences," Working Papers id:11335, eSocialSciences.
    12. Andrew Francis-Tan & Zheng Mu, 2019. "Racial Revolution: Understanding the Resurgence of Ethnic Minority Identity in Modern China," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 38(5), pages 733-769, October.
    13. John Forth & Nikolaos Theodoropoulos & Alex Bryson, 2023. "The role of the workplace in ethnic wage differentials," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 61(2), pages 259-290, June.
    14. Hersch, Joni, 2011. "Skin color, physical appearance, and perceived discriminatory treatment," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 40(5), pages 671-678.
    15. Sohn, Kitae, 2015. "The height premium in Indonesia," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 16(C), pages 1-15.
    16. Katherine Meckel, 2008. "Remittance behavior among new U.S. immigrants," Working Paper Series WP-08-19, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.
    17. Shing-Yi Wang, 2015. "Statistical Discrimination, Productivity, and the Height of Immigrants," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 68(3), pages 529-557, May.
    18. Thompson, Kristina & Portrait, France & Schoonmade, Linda, 2023. "The height premium: A systematic review and meta-analysis," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 50(C).
    19. Dóra Chor & Alexandre Pereira & Antonio G Pacheco & Ricardo V Santos & Maria J M Fonseca & Maria I Schmidt & Bruce B Duncan & Sandhi M Barreto & Estela M L Aquino & José G Mill & Maria delCB Molina & , 2019. "Context-dependence of race self-classification: Results from a highly mixed and unequal middle-income country," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(5), pages 1-17, May.
    20. Yu Xie & Margaret Gough, 2011. "Ethnic Enclaves and the Earnings of Immigrants," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 48(4), pages 1293-1315, November.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:socsci:v:104:y:2023:i:2:p:168-179. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0038-4941 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.