Abstract
This paper examines the influence of three non-cognitive personal traits - beauty, personality, and grooming - on the labor market earnings of young adults. It extends the analyses of Hamermesh and Biddle [1994, American Economic Review 84(5): 1174-1194] and others who focus primarily on the effects of beauty on labor market earnings. We find that personality and grooming significantly affect wages, and their inclusion in a model of wage determination reduces somewhat the effects of beauty. We also find some evidence of employer discrimination based on these traits in the setting of wages.
Original language | English (US) |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 228-251 |
Number of pages | 24 |
Journal | Labour |
Volume | 25 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jun 1 2011 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Demography
- Geography, Planning and Development