Brains or beauty? Causal evidence on the returns to education and attractiveness in the online dating market

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Egebark, Johan; Ekstrom, Mathias; Plug, Erik; van Praag, Mirjam
• 署名单位: Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN); Norwegian School of Economics (NHH); University of Amsterdam; Tinbergen Institute; Leibniz Association; Ifo Institut; IZA Institute Labor Economics; University of London; University College London; Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam; Copenhagen Business School; Centre for Economic Policy Research - UK
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0047-2727
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2021.104372
• 发表日期: 2021
• 关键词: Partner preferences; Partner matches; beauty; education; Field study; randomized experiment; Online dating

摘要

We study partner preferences for education and attractiveness by conducting a field experiment in a large online dating market. Fictitious profiles with manipulated levels of education and photo attractiveness send random invitations for a serious relationship to real online daters. We find that men and women prefer attractive over unattractive profiles, regardless of own attractiveness. We also find that high educated men prefer low-educated over high-educated profiles as much as high-educated women prefer high-educated over low-educated profiles. With preferences similar for attractiveness but opposite for education, two groups are more likely to stay single: unattractive, low-educated men and unattractive, high-educated women. ? 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. We study partner preferences for education and attractiveness by conducting a field experiment in a large online dating market. Fictitious profiles with manipulated levels of education and photo attractiveness send random invitations for a serious relationship to real online daters. We find that men and women prefer attractive over unattractive profiles, regardless of own attractiveness. We also find that higheducated men prefer low-educated over high-educated profiles as much as high-educated women prefer high-educated over low-educated profiles. With preferences similar for attractiveness but opposite for education, two groups are more likely to stay single: unattractive, low-educated men and unattractive, high-educated women.