It pays off to have pimples. Or, to be more precise, social scientists found, under certain circumstances, positive correlations between academic and financial earnings success and the incidence of acne. The abstract by Hugo M. Mialon and Erik T. Nesson in the journal Human Capital asserts:
We use data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health to investigate the association between having acne in middle to high school and subsequent educational and labor market outcomes. We find that having acne is strongly positively associated with overall grade point average in high school, grades in high school English, history, math, and science, and the completion of a college degree. We also find evidence that acne is associated with higher personal labor market earnings for women. We further explore a possible channel through which acne may affect education and earnings.
-via Marginal Revolution
Photo: Caitlin Regan