Evaluating the effect of beauty on labor market outcomes: A review of the literature

Xing Liu and Eva Sierminska

No 2014-11, LISER Working Paper Series from Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER)

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; Discrimination; Gender differentials; Occupational sorting; Human capital model; Physical attractiveness; Wages; Productivity; Stereotypes; Cross-country (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 32 pages
Date: 2014-10
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-lab and nep-lma
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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Working Paper: Evaluating the Effect of Beauty on Labor Market Outcomes: A Review of the Literature (2014)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:irs:cepswp:2014-11

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