Facial Structure and Achievement Drive: Evidence from Financial Analysts

Abstract

We use a large pictorial sample of Chinese financial analysts to test the association between facial width-to-height ratio (fWHR) and performance in men. Financial analysts offer an ideal setting for our investigation because we can objectively track individual analysts’ behaviors and performance. We find that high-fWHR analysts are more likely to conduct corporate site visits and they exhibit better performance. The positive fWHR-performance association survives a battery of robustness checks and the association is more pronounced for analysts with lower status, for firms with higher uncertainty, and for analysts facing more intense competition. Our results suggest that the dominant trait predicted by fWHR is achievement drive.

Keywords: Facial structure; Achievement drive; Financial analysts

JEL Classification: M20; M40; M41; M50