Catherine C. Eckel
School of Social Sciences
University of Texas at Dallas, GR31
Richardson, Texas 75080
Phone: 972-883-4949
eckelc@utdallas.edu

Rick K. Wilson
Department of Political Science
Rice University
Houston, TX
rkw@rice.edu
 

Abstract:
We report the results of laboratory experiments designed to measure racial/ethnic discrimination in trust behavior. Experiments are conducted across two sites: a subject at one site observes the photograph of her counterpart at the other site. Subjects play a discrete trust game: the first mover decides whether to make a $10 loan to a counterpart. If made, the $10 doubles, then the second mover decides how much to return. The photographs taken during the experiment are then rated by a separate set of raters for skin tone. We find that the probability the loan is made varies by the skin tone of the counterpart: darker skin tones are associated with lower levels of trust. We have no evidence of an in-group effect: all groups appear to trust less a counterpart with a darker skin shade. This effect holds even when adjusting for lower expectations of reciprocity from darker-skinned counterparts. We find no evidence that reciprocity differs by skin tone.