I learned a new word after reading this article from the Smithsonian: “How Much Is Being Attractive Worth?”

Here is a youtube clip from Vox giving the answer (and here is the link for the email subscribers).

Things I learned from the Smithsonian article:

• The handsome make 13% more money over the course of their lives.
• But the returns on cosmetic spend are terrible (for every dollar spent on lipstick, you apparently get an extra 4 cents in salary).

My favourite paragraph though:

But inborn beauty isn’t always lucrative. One 2006 study showed that the unbecoming may actually profit from their lack of looks. People tend to expect less from the unattractive, so when they surpass those low expectations they are rewarded. And the pulchritudinous are often initially held to a higher standard—then hit with a “beauty penalty” if they fail to deliver.

Other articles worth looking at:

• Why Are Beautiful People Happier? (TIME)
• The Beauty Advantage (Newsweek)

Rolling Alpha posts opinions on finance, economics, and the corporate life in general. Follow me on Twitter @RollingAlpha, and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/rollingalpha.