经济学人：美貌之人更有市场_演讲_双语阅读-查字典英语网

经济学人：美貌之人更有市场

Daniel Hamermesh, an economist at the University of Texas, has long written about “pulchronomics”. In “Beauty Pays” he reckons that, over a lifetime and assuming today’s mean wages, a handsome worker in America might on average make $230,000 more than a very plain one. There is evidence that attractive workers bring in more business, so it often makes sense for firms to hire them. Whether rewarding them accordingly—and paying their less attractive peers more stingily—is good for society is another matter.

德州大学的一位经济学家丹尼尔•汉姆梅斯一直在写关于“pulchronomics”。他在《美貌买单》一书中指出，假若以如今的最低工资计算，在美国一个外貌出众的人一生之中比一个长相平凡的人平均多赚230，000美圆。也有证据表明外貌出众的员工能够招揽更多生意，所以聘用他们对公司而言经常也是很有意义的。但是，给予他们相应的回报并支付其同僚更为刻薄的薪水是否对社会有益，那就是另一回事了。

In examining the case for legal protection for the ugly, Mr Hamermesh relies to a degree on the work of Deborah Rhode, a law professor at Stanford University and author of “The Beauty Bias”. Ms Rhode clearly struggles to see why any woman would willingly embrace fashion (particularly high heels). She is outraged that virtually all females consider their looks as key to their self-image. She cites a survey in which over half of young women said they would prefer to be hit by a truck than be fat. Her indignation is mostly moral. Billions of dollars are now spent on cosmetic surgery—up to 90% of it by women—at a time when almost a fifth of Americans lack basic health care. The more women focus on improving their looks, Ms Rhode argues, the less they think about others.