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. |
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