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Beauty Premium and Marriage Premium in Search Equilibrium: Theory and Empirical Test

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  • Roberto Bonilla
  • Francis Kiraly
  • John Wildman

Abstract

We propose a theoretical explanation for the so-called “beauty premium”. Our approach relies entirely on search frictions and the fact that physical appearance plays an important role in attracting a marriage partner. We analyse the interaction between frictional labour and marriage markets, making use of what we label constrained job search. The optimal strategy entails different reservation wages for different men, and we establish the existence of a search equilibrium characterised by beauty premium and/or marriage premium. Predicted profiles of premia allow for potential falsification tests and point to relevant empirical evidence in support of our theory.

Suggested Citation

  • Roberto Bonilla & Francis Kiraly & John Wildman, 2015. "Beauty Premium and Marriage Premium in Search Equilibrium: Theory and Empirical Test," CESifo Working Paper Series 5242, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_5242
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Roberto Bonilla & Alberto Trejos, 2021. "Marriage and employment participation with wage bargaining in search equilibrium," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 68(4), pages 517-533, September.
    2. Roberto Bonilla & Francis Kiraly, 2024. "Male investment in schooling with frictional labour and marriage markets," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 22(2), pages 359-385, June.
    3. Roberto Bonilla & Francis Kiraly & John Wildman, 2022. "Marriage premium with productivity heterogeneity," Bulletin of Economic Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 74(1), pages 317-328, January.
    4. Andrea Fazio, 2021. "Beautiful inequality: Are beautiful people more willing to redistribute?," Working Papers in Public Economics 194, Department of Economics and Law, Sapienza University of Roma.
    5. Roberto Bonilla & Alberto Trejos, 2015. "Marriage, Employment Participation and Home Production in Search Equilibrium," Monetaria, Centro de Estudios Monetarios Latinoamericanos, CEMLA, vol. 0(1), pages 1-23, january-j.
    6. Bonilla, Roberto & Malo, Miguel Á. & Pinto, Fernando, 2022. "Marriage wage premium with contract type heterogeneity," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    7. Roberto Bonilla & Francis Z. Kiraly & John Wildman, 2017. "Marriage Premium and Class," CESifo Working Paper Series 6550, CESifo.
    8. Roberto Bonilla & Francis Kiraly, 2020. "Constrained Fixed Sample Search," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 40(2), pages 1645-1650.
    9. Fazio, Andrea, 2022. "Attractiveness and preferences for redistribution," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 46(C).
    10. Roberto Bonilla & Adrian Masters, 2023. "Endogenous gender-based discrimination in a model of simultaneous frictional labor and marriage markets," Economic Theory Bulletin, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 11(1), pages 107-119, April.
    11. Roberto Bonilla & Francis Kiraly & Miguel Ángel Malo & Fernando Pinto Hernández, 2024. "Marriage, Divorce and Reservation Wages," CESifo Working Paper Series 11123, CESifo.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    search; frictional labour market; frictional marriage market; beauty premium; marriage premium;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials

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