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Physical Attractiveness, Employment, and Earnings

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  • Pfeifer, Christian

    (Leuphana University Lüneburg)

Abstract

Survey data is used to estimate the impact of physical attractiveness rated by the interviewer as well as by the respondent on employment probability and labor income of men and women. In addition to mean linear and non-linear effects on earnings, simultaneous quantile regressions are applied to analyze heterogeneity across the wage distribution.

Suggested Citation

  • Pfeifer, Christian, 2011. "Physical Attractiveness, Employment, and Earnings," IZA Discussion Papers 5664, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp5664
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Markus M. Mobius & Tanya S. Rosenblat, 2006. "Why Beauty Matters," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 96(1), pages 222-235, March.
    2. Michael French, 2002. "Physical appearance and earnings: further evidence," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 34(5), pages 569-572.
    3. Fletcher, Jason M., 2009. "Beauty vs. brains: Early labor market outcomes of high school graduates," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 105(3), pages 321-325, December.
    4. Pfann, Gerard A. & Biddle, Jeff E. & Hamermesh, Daniel S. & Bosman, Ciska M., 2000. "Business success and businesses' beauty capital," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 67(2), pages 201-207, May.
    5. Hamermesh, Daniel S. & Meng, Xin & Zhang, Junsen, 2002. "Dress for success--does primping pay?," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 9(3), pages 361-373, July.
    6. Armin Falk & Markus Knell, 2004. "Choosing the Joneses: Endogenous Goals and Reference Standards," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 106(3), pages 417-435, October.
    7. Becker, Gary S., 1971. "The Economics of Discrimination," University of Chicago Press Economics Books, University of Chicago Press, edition 2, number 9780226041162, December.
    8. Hamermesh, Daniel S & Biddle, Jeff E, 1994. "Beauty and the Labor Market," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 84(5), pages 1174-1194, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Cabane Charlotte & Lechner Michael, 2015. "Physical Activity of Adults: A Survey of Correlates, Determinants, and Effects," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 235(4-5), pages 376-402, August.
    2. Konrad Lewszyk & Piotr Wójcik, 2023. "Modelling Subjective Attractiveness," Working Papers 2023-06, Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw.
    3. S. Baert & L. Decuypere, 2014. "Better sexy than flexy? A lab experiment assessing the impact of perceived attractiveness and personality traits on hiring decisions," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(9), pages 597-601, June.
    4. Kseniya Bortnikova, 2020. "Beauty and Productivity: A Meta-Analysis," Working Papers IES 2020/18, Charles University Prague, Faculty of Social Sciences, Institute of Economic Studies, revised Jun 2020.
    5. Maurer-Fazio, Margaret & Lei, Lei, 2014. ""As Rare as a Panda": How Facial Attractiveness, Gender, and Occupation Affect Interview Callbacks at Chinese Firms," IZA Discussion Papers 8605, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Henk Erik Meier & Michael Mutz, 2020. "Does Attractiveness Lead to or Follow From Occupational Success? Findings From German Associational Football," SAGE Open, , vol. 10(1), pages 21582440209, January.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    attractiveness; beauty; employment; wages;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J71 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - Hiring and Firing
    • J10 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - General

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