What's behind Her Smile? Health, Looks, and Self-Esteem

Francisco Gallego, Cristian Larroulet Philippi and Andrea Repetto ()

American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 2024, vol. 16, issue 2, 359-88

Abstract: This paper examines how improving dental health affects economic, social, and psychological outcomes. In a randomized experiment, we provide a low-income group free dental care, including prostheses, and find significant and persistent impacts on men's and women's dental and self-perceived mental health. For women, treatment generates improvement in self-esteem, a higher likelihood of smiling when photographed, short-run improvements in employment and earnings, and improvement in partner interactions. We find no impact for men in these dimensions. Heterogeneity analyses suggest that treatment effects on labor market outcomes are larger for women with more severe visible dental issues at baseline.

JEL-codes: D12 D91 I12 J16 O12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1257/app.20210248

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