The higher price of whiter skin: an analysis of escort services

Raymundo Campos-Vazquez

Applied Economics Letters, 2021, vol. 28, issue 1, 1-4

Abstract: How much are people willing to pay extra for sexual services with a white woman instead of one with darker skin? Skin colour assessed from photographs of women on escort websites in Mexico was compared with price information to answer this question. Women with darker skin were found to be underrepresented, consistent with self-selection into other occupations with an expectation of higher wages. Lighter-skinned escorts also charge more than darker women. Controlling for estimated age and physical measures like weight, hair colour, and body type, a one standard deviation increase in darkness reduces an escort’s price by approximately 10 percent.

Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1080/13504851.2020.1725229

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