Beautiful people are happier, richer--study

Economists at The University of Texas at Austin suggest that beautiful people are generally more happier than their not-so-beautiful counterparts, because apparently they get paid more than their plain jane counterparts, and marry rich husbands, who are also good-looking.

Such economic benefits of beauty account for more than half of their happiness, researchers say.

“Personal beauty raises happiness. The majority of beauty's effect on happiness works through its impact on economic outcomes,” the USA Today quoted lead author Daniel Hamermesh as saying.

In previous researches, Hamermesh has established that good-looking people generally earn more money and marry better-looking and higher earning spouses than others. His upcoming work, 'Beauty Pays: Why Attractive People are More Successful,' is scheduled to release this summer by Princeton University Press.

Study details
In order to evaluate the impact of people's looks on their life satisfaction or happiness, the researchers from the University of Texas analyzed data from five large surveys conducted between 1971 and 2009 in the United States, Canada, Germany, and Britain.

The participants were asked to rate their happiness, while their attractiveness or beauty was rated by interviewers face-to-face or by looking at photographs.

The report, titled 'Beauty Is the Promise of Happiness?' reveals that the top 15 percent of people rated as the best looking were more than 10 percent happier than those who ranked at bottom 10 percent.

"Typically in these studies, maybe one-third are above average or gorgeous; maybe 10%-15% are below average or downright homely; and the middle, large group is neither good-looking nor bad-looking," Hamermesh says.

The findings of the study come after some politicians and economists urged the government to measure people's happiness along with their economic productivity.

Women derive more benefits from good-looks
The current study suggests these indirect, economic benefits account for at least half of the additional happiness that good-looking people get without much effort.

Though the study findings hold true for both men amd women, beauty affects women's happiness more directly than men's, the report published on the website of Institute for the Study of Labor in Germany, said.

Hamermesh added, "Think about it as a gateway to getting what you want from life — job intereviews, first dates, making those initial impressions, persuading and influencing other people.

“Attractiveness gives that slight edge. They're getting the benefit of the doubt at first sight, and unattractive people aren't."

“For a woman, it just matters to walk down the street being good-looking. It hurts to walk down the street being bad-looking," he said.

"For a man, beauty's direct relation to happiness is not as great. It will give you a better-looking wife, a higher-earning wife and — most important — extra earnings."