PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Rooth, Dan-Olof
TI  - Obesity, Attractiveness, and Differential Treatment in Hiring
AID  - 10.3368/jhr.44.3.710
DP  - 2009 Jul 01
TA  - Journal of Human Resources
PG  - 710--735
VI  - 44
IP  - 3
4099  - http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/44/3/710.short
4100  - http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/44/3/710.full
SO  - J Hum Resour2009 Jul 01; 44
AB  - This study presents evidence of differential treatment in the hiring of obese individuals in the Swedish labor market. Fictitious applications were sent to real job openings. The applications were sent in pairs, where one facial photo of an otherwise identical applicant was manipulated to show the individual as obese. Applications sent with the weight-manipulated photo had a significantly lower callback response for an interview: Six percentage points lower for men and eight percentage points lower for women. This differential treatment occurs differently for men and women: The results for men are driven by attractiveness, while the results for women are driven by obesity.