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The Looks of a Winner: Beauty, Gender, and Electoral Success


Niclas Berggren


The Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN)

Henrik Jordahl


Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN); IZA

Panu Poutvaara


University of Helsinki - Department of Economics; Helsinki Center of Economic Research (HECER); CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute for Economic Research); Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)
May 2007

CESifo Working Paper No. 2002

Abstract:     
We study the role of beauty in politics using candidate photos that figured prominently in electoral campaigns. Our investigation is based on visual assessments of 1,929 Finnish political candidates from 10,011 respondents (of which 3,708 were Finnish). An increase in beauty by one standard deviation is associated with an increase of 17-20 percent in the number of votes for the average non-incumbent candidate. The relationship is virtually always statistically significant for female candidates, and in most specifications also for male candidates.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 28

Keywords: beauty, gender, elections, political candidates, beauty premium

JEL Classification: D72, J45, J7

Accepted Paper Series


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Date posted: June 12, 2007  

Suggested Citation

Berggren, Niclas, Jordahl, Henrik and Poutvaara, Panu, The Looks of a Winner: Beauty, Gender, and Electoral Success (May 2007). CESifo Working Paper No. 2002. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=993016

Contact Information

Niclas Berggren
The Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN) ( email )
Box 55665
Grevgatan 34, 2nd floor
Stockholm, SE-102 15
Sweden
HOME PAGE: http://www.ifn.se/nb
Henrik Jordahl
Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN) ( email )
Box 55665
Grevgatan 34, 2nd floor
Stockholm, SE-102 15
Sweden
HOME PAGE: http://www.ifn.se/hj
IZA ( email )
P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany
Panu Poutvaara (Contact Author)
University of Helsinki - Department of Economics ( email )
P.O. Box 54
FIN-00014 Helsinki
Finland
HOME PAGE: http://www.valt.helsinki.fi/blogs/poutvaar/
Helsinki Center of Economic Research (HECER) ( email )
FI-00014 Helsinki
Finland
CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute for Economic Research)
Poschinger Str. 5
Munich, DE-81679
Germany
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)
P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany
Feedback to SSRN (Beta)


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