TY  - JOUR
AU  - Hamermesh,Daniel S.
TI  - Tall or Taller, Pretty or Prettier: Is Discrimination Absolute or Relative?
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 18123
PY  - 2012
Y2  - June 2012
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w18123
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w18123.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Daniel S. Hamermesh
Department of Economics
University of Texas
Austin, TX 78712-1173
Tel: 512/475-8526
Fax: 512/471-3510
E-Mail: hamermes@eco.utexas.edu
AB  - Using several microeconomic data sets from the United States and the Netherlands, and the examples of height and beauty, this study examines whether: 1) Absolute or relative differences in a characteristic are what affect labor-market and other outcomes; and 2) The effects of a characteristic change when all agents acquire more of it—become taller or better-looking. Confronted with a choice among individuals, decision-makers respond more to absolute than to relative differences among them.  Also, an increase in the mean of a characteristic’s distribution does not alter market responses to differences in it.
ER  -