Beauty and the Labor Market: Accounting for the additional effects of personality and grooming

Philip K. Robins; Jenny F. Homer; Michael T. French

doi:10.1111/j.1467-9914.2010.00511.x

Beauty and the Labor Market: Accounting for the additional effects of personality and grooming

Philip K. Robins, Jenny F. Homer, Michael T. French

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

18 Scopus citations

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	https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9914.2010.00511.x
State	Published - Jun 1 2011

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ASJC Scopus subject areas

Demography
Geography, Planning and Development

Cite this

Robins, P. K., Homer, J. F., & French, M. T. (2011). Beauty and the Labor Market: Accounting for the additional effects of personality and grooming. Labour, 25(2), 228-251. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9914.2010.00511.x

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10.1111/j.1467-9914.2010.00511.x