Biddle, J. E., and Hamermesh, D. S., 1998. Beauty, Productivity, and          
Discrimination: Lawyers  Looks and Lucre. Journal of Labor Economics,         
16(1):172-201.                                                                
                                                                              
Abstract:                                                                     
We propose models with an ascriptive characteristic generating earnings       
differentials and causing sectoral sorting, allowing us to distinguish        
among sources producing such differentials. We use longitudinal data on a     
large sample of graduates from one law school and measure beauty by rating    
matriculation photographs. (1) Betterlooking attorneys who graduated in the   
1970s earned more than others after 5 years of practice, an effect that       
grew with experience. (2) Attorneys in the private sector are better-looking  
than those in the public sector, differences that rise with age. These        
results support theories of dynamic sorting and customer behavior.            
                                                                              
nvar = 34                                                                     
nobs = 706  

  1. age                      in years
  2. black                    =1 if black
  3. case                     identifier
  4. clerical                 =1 if clerical worker
  5. construc                 =1 if construction worker
  6. educ                     years of schooling
  7. earns74                  total earnings, 1974
  8. gdhlth                   =1 if in good or excellent health
  9. inlf                     =1 if in labor force
 10. leis1                    sleep - totwrk
 11. leis2                    slpnaps - totwrk
 12. leis3                    rlxall - totwrk
 13. smsa                     = 1 if live in smsa
 14. lhrwage                  log hourly wage
 15. lothinc                  log othinc, unless othinc < 0
 16. male                     = 1 if male
 17. marr                     = 1 if married
 18. prot                     = 1 if Protestant
 19. rlxall                   slpnaps + personal activs
 20. selfe                    =1 if self employed
 21. sleep                    mins sleep at night, per week
 22. slpnaps                  mins sleep, including naps, per week
 23. south                    =1 if live in south
 24. spsepay                  spousal wage income
 25. spwrk75                  =1 if spouse works
 26. totwrk                   mins worked per week
 27. union                    =1 if belong to union
 28. worknrm                  mins work main job
 29. workscnd                 mins work second job
 30. exper                    age - educ - 6
 31. yngkid                   =1 if children < 3 present
 32. yrsmarr                  years married
 33. hrwage                   hourly wage
 34. agesq                    age^2

