Embodied capital and asset inequality: race, skin color, and socioeconomic pathways in Jamaica

Abstract A large body of research documents racial disparities in wealth, particularly in the United States, most often conceptualized through a Black-White or White-non-White binary. Yet less is known about how race shapes wealth inequality outside the United States. Drawing on the theory of embodied capital and a multidimensional approach to race, this study examines the direct and indirect associations of self-identified race and skin color on wealth, including pathways via education and household income. We center Jamaica as a critical case—a majority-Black country shaped by European colonialism that has adopted forms of racial democracy—where racialized embodied traits function as salient markers of social advantage. Using nationally representative data from the AmericasBarometer surveys (2012–2018/19) and path-model estimation, we measure wealth as household assets. Findings indicate that darker skin color is directly associated with lower levels of household assets. Skin color is also indirectly associated with assets through education and income, and via a sequential education-to-household income pathway. In contrast, the association between self-identified race and assets is largely attenuated once skin color is included. Findings highlight the critical role of colorism in shaping household assets and show that education and income only partially account for racialized disparities in Jamaica.