

The economics of good looks

The line of beauty

Pretty people still get the best deals in the market, from labour to love

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Readers' comments



Erotic capital has no place in the modern workplace and does not have a coherent theory behind it. We also see limited robust, scientific data supporting this model. Our 30 year database which adds 25 million talent assessments each year across 150 countries correlates people’s behaviours to work success and finds that age and sex do not fundamentally change people’s talent potential. In this current economic climate, organisations must call on proven ‘people intelligence’ to evaluate performance and potential. Furthermore, it’s particularly important that men and women pull in the same direction to ensure team success, rather than working against each other to score individual points. It’s laughable to think that organisations will measure talent and potential on aftershave or lipstick!
- Ellen Bard, head of people capability, SHL


I don't think it is just a matter of people wanting to give more to attractive individuals. I suspect attractive individuals get alot more positive feedback in their lives, for obvious reasons, and that builds confidence, and that builds earning power. Think how often you see an attractive person who struggles in confidence. It happens, but not often and, in my experience, it sticks out. Think how many plain-looking people lack confidence. They are harder to remember because we expect them to lack confidence so are not surprised. Conclusion: confidence matters in more endeavours than looks, so fake it till you make it.


it is true ,though i am not born in UK or live in.I am from HK. One thing i want to say is that one place far away from the West ,that means the East , is happening the same situation and even severe than here. Many people now having their surgery ,no matter plastic or not , to enhance their appeal to mates.I think all of you won't forget Korea is a country famed for plastic surgery.Many Korean girls have big boobs , fair skin or even chiselled face. In China , actually , it is very hard living there.Many women utilize their "erotic capital" to earn their living.
Some are spontaneous but most of them are not.
Last but not least,nowadays, many males care their appearance now. In HK, involving me , males go to gym centre almost day by day.Many people have done the lasik surgery instead of wearing cons.Of course , that also involves me.That's something not for shag only or shallowly ,but sort of status and taste of life.


Here we have another instance of liberals whining about human nature and the real world. Good looks are successful because they give people pleasure.

Moreover, liberals elected their current savior in the White House partly based on his good looks. It did not matter that he had accomplished little as a politician. It will matter just as little that he has accomplished little as president. They will still vote for him partly based on his good looks.

While Catherine Hakim has a better grip on reality with her theory of erotic capital, she is wrong to say woman have more of it because they have worked on it longer. They have more of it because men are hardwired to respond to it and women are hardwired to present it.


Being an incredibly sexy male, I find it abominable that I can't see pictures of other users on this site. How else can I judge the credibility of there posts and weigh there sex capital accordingly.


"Deborah Rhode, a law professor at Stanford University and author of “The Beauty Bias” ... cites a survey in which over half of young women said they would prefer to be hit by a truck than be fat."

Yet roughly 30% of Americans are obese and about 60% are over-weight. So, over 60% of Americans must have already been "hit by a truck"!

OK, there might perhaps be some slight problems with my logic above, if you are really picky.



Could the above be partly beause wealthier couples can afford more "treatments" for the wives to look "dishier"? I mean cosmetic surgeries and cosmetics are not exactly unheard of, but they cost money.


"In America more people say they have felt discriminated against for their appearance than because of their age, race or ethnicity."

Does this mean that there are more ugly Americans than there are self-identified racial/ethnic minorities and senior citizens combined?

teacher who

If people appreciate themselves, they should look after themselves not cause of other peole's opinion but for themselves to feel good...


Evolution got us this far with survival of the best, why not let it keep doing work. The human race needs work.


Few points.

Yes there are innate attractions, but cant help thinking much is fashion. Perhaps "currently perceived beauty" is a better term. The only old stars I thought hot were lauren bacall & charlotte rampling (tho latter pretty recent - 60s).

I wonder what the gays & gals think of the old male stars?

Nor did the models of the old masters do much for me. Maybe i am a product of my conditioning?

certainly, the now cool body shape for a woman is the worst for child bearing, which seems to have featured more in the old masters preferences (yes, i am looking at you Reuben?)

doors open for lookers. people like being around them, even if they resent them. So they get a more stimulating post pubescent youth.

I sure noticed a short guy syndrome over the years, but they tend to get rich, so its not all bad. I dont have problem them being short, they do. I cope with guys taller than me ok.

as i recall, the teaser said pretty & the post - beauty - big difference - one is fleeting, the other lasts.

seems a good spot to plug Zoolander movie - if havnt seen it, do so.

A plainer life companion of good character is way better than divorced to a bimbo for your kids happiness & welfare.

Started to get a bit raunchy there Economist. Am impressed. Soon will be doing centrefolds of sales prediction charts for the porn industry.


"Baffeh wrote:
Aug 28th 2011 4:07 GMT

In summary, it's not what you know, but how you look; so invest your looks and forget the books.

"baffeh - make that - "its not what you know or how you cook, ...." - it rhymes better


Is it not all about packaging?
Do we own a genunine item ? Do we need it?
Advertisement is a worm lurking in the apple of lust !

From Alcohol to Cosmetics to Hookers, Lingeriies to Tobacco to ...The decadence of the East to West is under construction?

Mystics have always differentiated between inner and or outer beauty.

Beauty remains undefined even if it is skin deep.

Good looks could not be a measure of the spiritual self.

Lines of beauties are skewed with deceptive colours,almost always.

True beauty is fleeting,short lived mostly hidden like diamonds and nuggets still waiting for diamonnd cutters and fires....

Bryan Goh

It all depends on how you take it. If you are good looking you might be complacent. Or not. You might milk it. If you are ugly, you could sit back. Or you could well over-compensate for it by pushing harder, working harder, applying unreasonable and disproportionate effort, means, devices, schemes, plans, methods, to make sure that the disadvantage is more than proportionately addressed. Many great people looked like sin, were short, were less than pleasant.


choppy2 says:
"People can learn to write well because the principles and process of writing are known and teachable."

I don't think you can teach anyone and everyone to write. On the other hand, most people can do a lot to improve their looks. I work with some beautiful girls and trust me, it takes hard work and a lot of money. So I don't think one talent is more inborn than the other.

I'm smart rather than beautiful, but I've always known that my intelligence is largely innate. If it wasn't, I wouldn't have my degree because in all honesty, I didn't work hard for it. I understand quickly and I have a good short-term memory and from a very tender age I've understood that I could get away with a lot of slacking because of this ;) So why should I benefit from my innate talent and naturally beautiful people should not?

Steven Moseley

Oh, yes, Ms. Rhode, let's create legislation making it illegal to be prejudiced against ugly people... it's TOTALLY unfair to like people more because they're attractive to us! And it should be illegal to pay people more because they're attractive... forget the fact that they're easier to work with, generally more appreciated by customers, and that people who don't take care of themselves typically don't take care of their work, either! What's next? Are we going to make it illegal to pay intelligent or educated people more? "What do you mean, Master's Degree required?!?! That's PREJUDICE!!! I'm suing you!!!" Yay America! Let's keep rewarding mediocrity so everyone feels better about their inadequacies. That MIGHT make people happier... until the day we're a country full of fat, lazy, ugly, uneducated, self-entitled twits, and the hard work of our grandparents is meaningless as we topple down an economic landslide. Oh wait... that day is already here! We're just lying to ourselves about it and perpetuating the causes!


caesar14, I think you make a valuable overall point, that there's a moralistic undertone to the discussion. However, I disagree, at least in part, with this statement: "Seriously folks, what is the difference between being born beautiful and being born a good writer?" People can learn to write well because the principles and process of writing are known and teachable.

Zorah Wright

"Erotic Capital" - could not have come up with a better term for it. And it is a fact. I liked how it was differentiated from other forms of capital. She is dead-on and Rhodes is delusional to think you could capture and prohibit human nature from its process with laws and regulation. Thank god beauty is also subjective. It is true, people are attracted to symmetry in the face because it shows balance and often represents what is going on internally in the body. A healthy unattractive person will have more success than an unhealthy attractive one. Just as people are repelled by disease that is not contagious based on their internal survival instinct, so too is attraction to beauty a survival mechanism. A healthy attractive person can lead the team more easily as they will reach agreement faster if they are intelligent, humble and kind. The bottom line is "Ms Hakim attempts to quantify a complex mix of physical and social assets, consisting of beauty, sex appeal, self-presentation, social skills, liveliness and sexual competence. Like other sorts of capital, the erotic kind is important for success; but unlike others it is largely independent of birth and class." This statement is what really does get the door open and keep it there. This can be used in the board room and the bedroom for the benefit of everyone, to create engagement and better communication. It takes all the skills, the obvious and covert and lays them on the table as tools for business success. Can't wait to buy the book!


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