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The Role of Body Size in Economic Research Above and Beyond Beauty

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  • Sonia Oreffice
  • Climent Quintana-Domeque

Abstract

We analyze how attractiveness rated at the start of the interview in a nation- ally representative sample is related to weight, height, and body mass index (BMI), separately by gender and accounting for interviewers' characteristics or fixed effects. We also compute the non-anthropometric residual attractiveness, and present novel estimates of how non-anthropometric attractiveness and anthropometric attributes are related to labor and marital outcomes such as hourly wage and spousal educa- tion. We show that height, weight, and BMI all strongly contribute to male and female attractiveness when attractiveness is rated by opposite-sex interviewers, and that anthropometric characteristics are irrelevant to male interviewers when assessing male attractiveness. In addition, we estimate that non-anthropometric attractiveness and height matter for both men and women in the labor market, while BMI plays a stronger role than (residual) beauty in the marriage market.

Suggested Citation

  • Sonia Oreffice & Climent Quintana-Domeque, 2015. "The Role of Body Size in Economic Research Above and Beyond Beauty," CHILD Working Papers Series 35, Centre for Household, Income, Labour and Demographic Economics (CHILD) - CCA.
    • Handle: RePEc:cca:wchild:35
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Caliendo, Marco & Gehrsitz, Markus, 2016. "Obesity and the labor market: A fresh look at the weight penalty," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 23(C), pages 209-225.
    2. Hamermesh, Daniel S. & Abrevaya, Jason, 2013. "Beauty is the promise of happiness?," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 351-368.
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    4. Doorley, Karina & Sierminska, Eva, 2012. "Myth or Fact? The Beauty Premium across the Wage Distribution," IZA Discussion Papers 6674, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
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    6. Oreffice, Sonia & Quintana-Domeque, Climent, 2010. "Anthropometry and socioeconomics among couples: Evidence in the United States," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 8(3), pages 373-384, December.
    7. Philip K. Robins & Jenny F. Homer & Michael T. French, 2011. "Beauty and the Labor Market: Accounting for the Additional Effects of Personality and Grooming," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 25(2), pages 228-251, June.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Attractiveness; Body Mass Index; Height; Weight; Wage; Spousal Education.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J01 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - Labor Economics: General
    • J10 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - General

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