Beauty Pays

"If there was ever any doubt that Dan Hamermesh is the dean of beauty--of explaining beauty, at least--this book should put that to rest. He writes so lucidly and charmingly about such a compelling subject that you will never again look at a beautiful face (or an ugly one) without thinking of the many economic consequences. Bravo!"--Stephen J. Dubner, coauthor of Freakonomics "Beauty is all around us. And it has value. Hamermesh, the founder of the economics of beauty, crunches the numbers and shows us what we've all suspected: the world looks different--and better--when you are beautiful. This book addresses the economics of beauty, but more importantly, it reveals the beauty of economics."--Justin Wolfers, University of Pennsylvania and Brookings Institution "Beauty Pays is provocative and informative."--Joel Waldfogel, author of Scroogenomics "Beauty Pays provides the first serious analysis of a significant aspect of human behavior: how beauty affects economic transactions and outcomes. This important book will receive a great deal of attention."--Naci Mocan, Louisiana State University

Daniel S. Hamermesh

Preface ix PART I: Background to Beauty Chapter I: The Economics of Beauty 3 Chapter II: In the Eye of the Beholder 11 Definitions of Beauty 11 Why Do Beauty Standards Matter? 18 How Do We Measure Human Beauty? 19 Do Observers Agree on Beauty? 24 Does Beauty Differ by Gender, Race, or Age? What Makes You Beautiful? 28 Can We Become More Beautiful? 32 The Stage Is Set 35 Part I I: Beauty on the Job: What and Why Chapter III: Beauty and the Worker 39 The Central Questions 39 How Can Beauty Affect Earnings? 40 How Much More Do Good-Looking People Make? 42 Is Beauty the Real Cause? 51 Why Are Beauty Effects Smaller Among Women? 55 Do Beauty Effects Differ by Race? 58 Do Beauty Effects Differ by Age? 59 Compensating the Beauty-Damaged Worker? 61 Looks Matter for Workers 64 Chapter IV Beauty in Specific Occupations 66 Beauty and Choosing an Occupation 66 How Big Are Beauty Effects Where Beauty Might Matter? 72 How Big Are Beauty Effects Where Beauty Might Not Matter? 79 Sorting by Beauty 84 Chapter V: Beauty and the Employer 86 The Puzzles 86 Do Good-Looking Employees Raise Sales? 87 How Does Beauty Affect Profits? 92 How Can Companies Pay for Beauty and Survive? 97 Do Companies with Better-Looking CEOs Perform Better? 98 Beauty Helps Companies--Probably 100 Chapter VI: Lookism or Productive Beauty, and Why? 102 What the Beauty Effect Means 102 How Can Beauty Effects Be Discrimination? 103 How Can Beauty Be Socially Productive? 108 What Are the Sources of Beauty Effects? 111 What Is the Direct Evidence on the Sources? 114 The Importance of Beauty 121 Part I I I: Beauty in Love, Loans, and Law Chapter VII: Beauty in Markets for Friends, Family, and Funds 125 Beyond the Labor Market 125 How Is Beauty Exchanged? 126 How Does Beauty Affect Group Formation? 128 How Does Beauty Affect Dating? 130 How Does Beauty Affect Marriage? 135 Could There Be a Market for Beautiful Children? 141 Does Beauty Matter When You Borrow? 144 Trading Beauty in Unexpected Places 146 Chapter VIII: Legal Protection for the Ugly 148 Fairness and Public Policy 148 What Kinds of Protection Are Possible? 149 How Have Existing Policies Been Used? 154 Is It Possible to Protect the Ugly? 156 What Justifies Protecting the Ugly? 160 What Justifies Not Protecting the Ugly? 163 What Is an Appropriate Policy? 166 Protecting the Ugly in the Near Future 168 Part I V: The Future of Looks Chapter IX Prospects for the Looks-Challenged 171 The Beauty Conundrum 173 Are Beautiful People Happier? 173 What Will Be Beautiful? What Should Be? 175 What Can Society Do? 177 What Can You Do If You're Bad-Looking? 178 Notes 181 Index 203