Evaluating the Effect of Beauty on Labor Market Outcomes: A Review of the Literature.

Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER) Working Paper Series 2014-11

32 Pages Posted: 7 Jun 2015

See all articles by Xing Liu

Xing Liu

University of Arizona - Department of Economics

Eva Sierminska

LISER; DIW Berlin - German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP); IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Date Written: October 21, 2014

Abstract

Examining the effect of beauty on labor market outcomes has become a growing field of labor economics. In fact, the way the labor market rewards physical attractiveness has become an important underlying determinant of wage discrimination, as well as the gender wage gap. In this article, we survey the extensive literature on this topic paying particular attention to the channels through which beauty may affect wage differentials. Overall our survey confirms the existence of a positive association between beauty and labor market outcomes such as earnings and employment opportunities (call-back rates). Further research is needed on the effect of attractiveness within occupations in order to provide more evidence on its productivity-enhancing channel of transmission and the effect this has on the gender wage gap, as well as on the endogeneity of beauty.

Keywords: Beauty premium, Cross-country, Discrimination, Gender differentials, Human capital model, Occupational sorting, Physical attractiveness, Productivity, Stereotypes, Wages, Wage Discrimination

Suggested Citation

Liu, Xing and Sierminska, Eva, Evaluating the Effect of Beauty on Labor Market Outcomes: A Review of the Literature. (October 21, 2014). Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER) Working Paper Series 2014-11, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2613431 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2613431

Xing Liu (Contact Author)

University of Arizona - Department of Economics ( email )

McClelland Hall
Tucson, AZ 85721-0108
United States

Eva Sierminska

LISER ( email )

3, avenue de la Fonte
Esch-sur-Alzette, L-4364
Luxembourg

HOME PAGE: http://www.sierminska.eu

DIW Berlin - German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP)

Mohrenstraße 58
Berlin, 10117
Germany

IZA Institute of Labor Economics ( email )

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

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