Employment Expert to Discuss “Economics of Beauty”

This free, public event sponsored by the Wake Forest economics department is scheduled from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the Annenburg Forum, first floor of Carswell Hall.

Hamermesh will discuss how physical appearance can influence economic outcomes, such as wages. Hamermesh, an economics professor at the University of Texas at Austin, has researched the role of beauty in the labor market. Among his findings is that employees suffer substantial wage penalties for unattractiveness and the penalties are greater for men than women.

Hamermesh’s research projects have received national media attention and been the topic of numerous newspaper articles. His television appearances include “Good Morning America” and “CBS Nightwatch.”

Hamermesh currently holds the Edward Everett Hale Centennial Professorship of Economics at UT-Austin. Hamermesh began his academic career at Princeton University in 1969 and taught at Michigan State University from 1973-1993. Hamermesh has been a research associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research since 1979.