UT professor to discuss beauty and economics

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By Hannah Catchings

Does it really pay to be beautiful? Are good - looking people more productive than their less attractive counterparts? Should the government establish affirmative action programs for the ugly? On Thursday, Oct. 29, Dr. Daniel Hamermesh will address these topics and similar ones in his talk "Beauty Pays."

"He is a prominent economist who does research on important and interesting topics," said Distinguished Chair of Economics Naci Mocan in an LSU press release. "We are very excited that LSU students and the Baton Rouge community will have the opportunity to attend his lecture. The event is free, and it is open to everyone."

The talk is based around a book by the same name that Dr. Hamermesh plans to release next year, all while maintaining his popular reign as the Sue Killam Professor in the Foundations of Economics at the University of Texas at Austin.

"I just finished the third draft and sent it off this week," said Hamermesh. "Basically it covers anything an economist might think about in relation to beauty."

Hamermesh received his Ph.D. in Economics from Yale University in 1969 and has since lectured at over 200 universities. As well, Hamermesh has published almost 100 articles in numerous economic journals. In addition to UT - Austin, he has taught at both Princeton and Michigan State University and held visiting professorships at Harvard and the University of Michigan.

His research has focused on everything from time use and labor demand, to social programs and academic labor. The role of beauty in economics, which he has studied for the past 17 years, is one of Dr. Hamermesh's more contentious subjects.

"It's obviously a topic that people feel very strongly about," said Hamermesh. "I don't think the facts are really well known, and that's my purpose - to get across some facts and some consistent way of thinking about it."

One study Dr. Hamermesh used to gather data was an analysis of 12 different classes at a law school. Pictures of each student were given to a panel of four who then rated each person's level of beauty. Hamermesh related the students' jobs, earnings and how well they did in law school to their beauty ranking. This is just one example of how he examines the effect of looks on earnings.

"I would walk across campus and I couldn't help myself but give ratings of beauty to everybody I saw," Hamermesh said of his constant investigation on the issue. "It's a pretty dangerous thing."

The lecture will be given in the Senate Chamber of the LSU Student Union starting at 7 p.m. next Thursday. Dr. Hamermesh promised to provide a fun, enlightening evening and insisted that no prior knowledge of economics is necessary.

Originally Published: Issue 820 - October 21, 2009

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