Men: look better and make more money
A lot has been said over the years on the idea that there is a positive earnings premium in the business world associated with being physically attractive or well groomed. What I had never seen until now was a scientific study from a reputable source quantifying this effect.
This is exactly what Markus Mobius, an economics professor from Harvard has just done. Markus research is published in the American Economic Review (quite a reputable source: http://www.aeaweb.org/aer/ search for "Why Beauty Matters").
Prof. Mobius quantified this "beauty premium" at a maximum of 17%, and that, is a big number!
Mobius further disaggregated these results, and concluded that up to 40% of the beauty premium was attributable to a perception by the employers that physically attractive workers were more productive. But the other 60% of the premium had to do with the fact that better looking candidates tended to be more confident and have better perceived communication and social skills.
I think few men would debate the idea that looking better (through a grooming, and skincare regimen for example) translates into higher earnings in the marketplace. But my hypothesis is that most of us (this includes me sitting unshaven as I type these lines...are not approaching this opportunity as a high-return investment. Basically, that spending a couple of minutes and a few cents in high quality men's grooming products on a daily basis could translate into hundreds of dollars of a "beauty premium" over the life of an average man. What do you think?
FS
This is exactly what Markus Mobius, an economics professor from Harvard has just done. Markus research is published in the American Economic Review (quite a reputable source: http://www.aeaweb.org/aer/ search for "Why Beauty Matters").
Prof. Mobius quantified this "beauty premium" at a maximum of 17%, and that, is a big number!
Mobius further disaggregated these results, and concluded that up to 40% of the beauty premium was attributable to a perception by the employers that physically attractive workers were more productive. But the other 60% of the premium had to do with the fact that better looking candidates tended to be more confident and have better perceived communication and social skills.
I think few men would debate the idea that looking better (through a grooming, and skincare regimen for example) translates into higher earnings in the marketplace. But my hypothesis is that most of us (this includes me sitting unshaven as I type these lines...are not approaching this opportunity as a high-return investment. Basically, that spending a couple of minutes and a few cents in high quality men's grooming products on a daily basis could translate into hundreds of dollars of a "beauty premium" over the life of an average man. What do you think?
FS
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