Overview
Most of us know there is a payoff to looking good, and in the quest for beauty we spend countless hours and billions of dollars on personal grooming, cosmetics, and plastic surgery. But how much better off are the better looking? Based on the evidence, quite a lot. The first book to seriously measure the advantages of beauty, Beauty Pays demonstrates how society favors the beautiful and how better-looking people experience startling but undeniable benefits in all aspects of life. Noted economist Daniel Hamermesh shows that the attractive are more likely to be employed, work more productively and profitably, receive more substantial pay, obtain loan approvals, negotiate loans with better terms, and have more handsome and highly educated spouses. Hamermesh explains why this happens and what it means for the beautiful--and the not-so-beautiful--among us. Exploring whether a universal standard of beauty exists, Hamermesh illustrates how attractive workers make more money, how these amounts differ by gender, and how looks are valued differently based on profession. He considers whether extra pay for good-looking people represents discrimination, and, if so, who is discriminating. Hamermesh investigates the commodification of beauty in dating and how this influences the search for intelligent or high-earning mates, and even examines whether government programs should aid the ugly. He also discusses whether the economic benefits of beauty will persist into the foreseeable future and what the looks-challenged can do to overcome their disadvantage. Reflecting on a sensitive issue that touches everyone, Beauty Pays proves that beauty's rewards are anything but superficial.
Full Product Details
Author: Daniel S. Hamermesh
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Imprint: Princeton University Press
Dimensions:
Width: 14.00cm
, Height: 2.20cm
, Length: 21.60cm
Weight: 0.397kg
ISBN: 9780691140469
ISBN 10: 0691140464
Pages: 224
Publication Date: 22 August 2011
Audience:
General/trade
,
College/higher education
,
General
,
Tertiary & Higher Education
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Out of Print
Availability: In Print
Limited stock is available. It will be ordered for you and shipped pending supplier's limited stock.
Language: English
Reviews
This chatty, economist's-eye-view of beauty in the marketplace provides solid statistical evidence that beauty does pay. -- Publishers Weekly An extensive, dizzying compilation of economic data explaining 'why attractive people are more successful.' A 40-year veteran in the field of economics, Hamermesh examines the correlation between beauty and economics... Fascinating. -- Kirkus Reviews [A] no-warts-and-all expos of how attractive people earn more, marry better and enjoy a wealth of positive discrimination. -- Anjana Ahuja, Prospect Daniel Hamermesh ... has long written about 'pulchronomics.' In Beauty Pays he reckons that, over a lifetime and assuming today's mean wages, a handsome working in America might on average make $230,000 more than a very plain one. There is evidence that attractive workers bring in more business, so it often makes sense for firms to hire them. Whether rewarding them accordingly--and paying their less attractive peers more stingily--is good for society is another matter. -- Economist If you live in the west and have lately looked at any magazine, watched any television, seen any movie, common sense would dictate that those who are better looking accrue the benefits of such a genetic roll of the dice. But what exactly those benefits are and if they are measurable is the point of Beauty Pays... [T]his book ... will prove more than just eye candy. -- New York Journal of Books University of Texas labor economist Daniel Hamermesh has devoted a share of his career to the study of physical beauty and how it affects employment and earning potential. In his new book, Beauty Pays, he offers up all sorts of data he's collected over years of work. His broad point, that attractive people enjoy advantages in hiring and earning, will surprise no one. But some of the details packed inside this thoughtful and in some respects quirky and confounding book, are illuminating. -- Susan Adams, Forbes Hamermesh's analysis of empirical studies in his book Beauty Pays appears to suggest that being attractive does, indeed, bring measurable materials benefits... Hamermesh's research appears to have clear implications for policy. -- Sunday Times Economist Daniel Hamermesh argues that ugliness is no different from race or a disability, and suggests unattractive people deserve legal protection. -- Luke Salkeld, Daily Mail
This chatty, economist's-eye-view of beauty in the marketplace provides solid statistical evidence that beauty does pay. -- Publishers Weekly
This chatty, economist's-eye-view of beauty in the marketplace provides solid statistical evidence that beauty does pay. -- Publishers Weekly An extensive, dizzying compilation of economic data explaining 'why attractive people are more successful.' A 40-year veteran in the field of economics, Hamermesh examines the correlation between beauty and economics... Fascinating. -- Kirkus Reviews [A] no-warts-and-all expos of how attractive people earn more, marry better and enjoy a wealth of positive discrimination. -- Anjana Ahuja, Prospect Daniel Hamermesh ... has long written about 'pulchronomics.' In Beauty Pays he reckons that, over a lifetime and assuming today's mean wages, a handsome working in America might on average make $230,000 more than a very plain one. There is evidence that attractive workers bring in more business, so it often makes sense for firms to hire them. Whether rewarding them accordingly--and paying their less attractive peers more stingily--is good for society is another matter. -- Economist If you live in the west and have lately looked at any magazine, watched any television, seen any movie, common sense would dictate that those who are better looking accrue the benefits of such a genetic roll of the dice. But what exactly those benefits are and if they are measurable is the point of Beauty Pays... [T]his book ... will prove more than just eye candy. -- New York Journal of Books University of Texas labor economist Daniel Hamermesh has devoted a share of his career to the study of physical beauty and how it affects employment and earning potential. In his new book, Beauty Pays, he offers up all sorts of data he's collected over years of work. His broad point, that attractive people enjoy advantages in hiring and earning, will surprise no one. But some of the details packed inside this thoughtful and in some respects quirky and confounding book, are illuminating. -- Susan Adams, Forbes Hamermesh's analysis of empirical studies in his book Beauty Pays appears to suggest that being attractive does, indeed, bring measurable materials benefits... Hamermesh's research appears to have clear implications for policy. -- Sunday Times Economist Daniel Hamermesh argues that ugliness is no different from race or a disability, and suggests unattractive people deserve legal protection. -- Luke Salkeld, Daily Mail Beauty Pays is intriguing and easy to read. -- World Magazine In his book, Hamermesh concludes that better-looking employees are more productive, leading to higher sales and potentially higher profit. [Beauty Pays] also shows how society generates premium pay for beauty and penalties for ugliness. Hamermesh says beautiful people earn $230,000 more in a lifetime than workers with below-average looks. -- Sheryl Jean, Dallas Morning News Professor Daniel Hamermesh ... has investigated the financial benefits of beauty and found that looks have a bigger impact on our lifetime earning power than education. In his book, Beauty Pays, Professor Hamermesh says beautiful people are more likely to get jobs, raises and promotions, and suggests that, over a lifetime, the best-looking workers will earn about 10-15 percent more per year than the ugliest. -- Australian Women's Weekly Looks matter... Labor markets as well as marriage markets, according to Daniel Hamermesh, offer premiums for good looks and penalties for ugliness. In Beauty Pays, Hamermesh assesses the role of appearance in American society, explores the options available to 'looks-challenged' people, and demonstrates that, although it's in its infancy, and is easy to mock, 'pulchronomics' (the economics of beauty) is a serious and significant subject. -- Barron's
Author Information
Daniel S. Hamermesh is the Sue Killam Professor in the Foundations of Economics at the University of Texas, Austin, and professor of economics at Royal Holloway, University of London.
