Background:

Recent literature shows that, in Mexico, skin color is relevant for life outcomes and for social mobility. A possible transmission channel is explicit discrimination. Another possible channel is that the effort and aspirations may be affected by negative stereotypes attributed to dark-skinned individuals. Since society values certain physical traits (social identity), affected individuals can modify their behavior and expectations.

Methods:

We conducted a field experiment with middle school students in Mexico City. Each student solved a cognitive test and a questionnaire about future aspirations. The experimental design consisted of randomly revealing information before performing the test. The control group did not receive any information. Treatment 1 received twelve images of public characters with light or white skin prior taking the test, treatment 2 received a color palette to self-assess skin color and treatment 3 received both the mosaic of images and the palette of colors.

Results:

Results presented in here indicate that social identity and skin color stereotypes affect the aspirations and performance of young people in Mexico. The group that received the intervention invoking social identification by skin tone and its possible relation with life results, presented a lower level of aspirations towards the future (0.26 standard deviations), compared with the students in the control group. These effects come from women, suggesting that they are more sensitive to the negative effect of stereotypes.

Conclusions:

These results imply that cultural aspects in Mexico affect how young people behave and make decisions. Therefore, differences in life outcomes and social mobility for individuals with different skin color, but otherwise equal, could also be explained by the existence of negative stereotypes against dark-skinned people.