Beauty premium in China's labor market: Is discrimination the main reason?

Gu, Tianzhu; Ji, Yueqing

doi:10.1016/j.chieco.2019.101335

Cited by 22 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…On the other hand, Aristotle supported that a man's outward beauty is "the most important qualification, far more than the best letter of recommendation." Current research confirms that this is the case nowadays by empirically supporting that appearance can affect an individual's success in the society (Dilmaghani, 2020;Gu & Ji, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 71%

Editorial: the “nip and tuck” service framework: bright and dark side of beautification/modification services

Tsiotsou

Klaus

2021

JSM

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Purpose The purpose of this study is to propose a conceptual framework of beautification/modification services, to introduce the special issue on the topic “Mirror, Mirror on the Wall! Examining the Bright and Dark Side of Face and Body Beautification/Modification Services” and to provide a future research agenda. Design/methodology/approach Building on the available literature, the authors developed the “Nip and Tuck” service framework of beautification/modification services depicting the motives, benefits and outcomes while it identifies current industry trends. Findings The authors explore the antecedents and consequences (positive and negative) of consuming face and body beautification/modification services and integrate these in the “Nip and Tuck” service framework. In the framework, the authors acknowledge the critical role of new technologies such as augmented reality apps and the internet in enabling and transforming beautification/modification services into commodities. The framework also identifies the benefits consumers seek and derive from these services while it recognizes current trends that shape the industry. The authors conclude with a set of future research directions that arise from the framework and the papers in the special issue. Practical implications The attained insights are useful to managers of beautification and modification services seeking to understand and satisfy their customers’ needs while securing their well-being. Social implications Understanding the role of beautification and modification services in consumers’ well-being is essential for business managers and policymakers. Originality/value The authors propose a novel, “Nip and Tuck” framework of face and body beautification/modification services and its key antecedents and consequences while considering both their bright and dark sides.

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 71%

Editorial: the “nip and tuck” service framework: bright and dark side of beautification/modification services

Tsiotsou

Klaus

2021

JSM

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“…4 This college admissions contribution may help explain the surprisingly greater labor market beauty premium for men in the US, and why it does not vary across jobs with significant and insignificant exposure to customers. Our evidence suggests that the labor market beauty premium for men and women in China (Deng, Li, and Zhou 2019;Gu and Ji 2019;Hamermesh, Meng, and Zhang 2002;Maurer-Fazio and Lei 2015) and for women and non-Whites of both genders in the US may arise after college. Our results suggest the potential importance of controlling not only for the years of education in future studies of the labor market beauty premium, but also for the rank of the college attended, particularly for men.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 74%

“…In addition to selection for better-looking men through the preference for athletes, universities may also implicitly select for better-looking men when they select for applicants with demonstrated leadership experience. Leadership contests among high school students may well be little more than popularity contests, and beauty increases popularity (Gu and Ji 2019). Moreover, athletic ability, height, a large lean body, facial masculinity, and a daring and domineering personality, may complement the stereotypically masculine traits of leaders in the West, and thereby, contribute to the charisma and confidence expected of leaders, especially among adolescents (Mobius and Rosenblat 2006).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The College Admissions Contribution to the Labor Market Beauty Premium

Ong

Man

Zhang³

2020

SSRN Journal

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Beautiful people earn more. Surprisingly, this premium is larger for men than for women and is independent of the degree of customer contact. Overlooked is the possibility that beauty can influence college admissions. We explore this academic contributor to the labor market beauty earnings premium by sampling 1,800 social media profiles of students from universities ranked from 1 to 200 in China and the US. Chinese universities use only standardized test scores for admissions. In contrast, US universities use also grades and extracurricular activities, which are not necessarily beauty-blind. Consistent with beauty-blind admissions, student's beauty is uncorrelated with the rank of their college in China. In the US, White men from higher ranked colleges are better-looking. As expected, the correlation is insignificant for White men who attended tech colleges and is highest for those who attended private colleges. We also find that White women and minorities of either gender are not better-looking at higher ranked colleges. Our evidence indicates a college admissions contribution to the labor market beauty premium for US White men, but not for students in China of either gender, White women, or minorities of either gender in the US, or for White men who attended technology colleges.

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“…Most existing studies measure body shape in term of BMI and other indicators simultaneously ( Burkhauser & Cawley, 2008 ; Caliendo & Lee, 2013 ). A few scholars choose the height, weight, waist circumference, appearance, or a comprehensive subjective and objective score based on appearance ( Biddle & Hamermesh, 1998 ; Gu & Ji, 2019 ; Kinge, 2017 ; Mavisakalyan, 2017 ). The classification of absolute BMI by the World Health Organization and countries differs by race and physique.…”

Section: Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Body shape and stable employment opportunity analysis of China's nonagricultural labor market

Ping

Chen

Stafford

et al. 2022

SSM - Population Health

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Based on the integrated data of the China General Social Survey (CGSS) from 2010 to 2017, this study observes that body shape – being overweight or underweight – is important for labor market outcomes. Body shape significantly affects the employment opportunities of Chinese individuals, and this effect differs by gender and across the occupational hierarchy. Women face both slim premium and obesity penalty effects. Slim women, those with normal and lower but not excessively lower body weight, are more likely to gain long-term employment contracts in the labor market, while the opposite is observed for overweight individuals. The relationship between women's body shape and employment opportunities also varies by occupation. The obesity penalty is more pronounced in occupations with a higher International Socio-Economic Index (ISEI), while the slim premium is more evident in occupations with a low ISEI. The results suggest that the Chinese labor market is highly demanding regarding women's figures, while it is relatively tolerant of men’s figures. By mechanism analysis, health capital is found to be the leading cause of the body shape effect. In addition, socialization is also a possible pathway of action. This paper has extended implications for the study of stature and employment stability, enriching the empirical research on labor market discrimination.

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Beauty premium in China's labor market: Is discrimination the main reason?

Cited by 22 publications

References 21 publications

Editorial: the “nip and tuck” service framework: bright and dark side of beautification/modification services

Editorial: the “nip and tuck” service framework: bright and dark side of beautification/modification services

The College Admissions Contribution to the Labor Market Beauty Premium

Body shape and stable employment opportunity analysis of China's nonagricultural labor market

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