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What's behind Her Smile? Health, Looks, and Self-Esteem

  • Francisco A. Gallego
  • Cristian Larroulet Philippi
  • Andrea Repetto
American Economic Journal: Applied Economics
vol. 16, no. 2, April 2024
(pp. 359-88)
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Abstract

This paper examines how improving dental health affects economic, social, and psychological outcomes. In a randomized experiment, we provide a low-income group free dental care, including prostheses, and find significant and persistent impacts on men's and women's dental and self-perceived mental health. For women, treatment generates improvement in self-esteem, a higher likelihood of smiling when photographed, short-run improvements in employment and earnings, and improvement in partner interactions. We find no impact for men in these dimensions. Heterogeneity analyses suggest that treatment effects on labor market outcomes are larger for women with more severe visible dental issues at baseline.

Citation

Gallego, Francisco A., Cristian Larroulet Philippi, and Andrea Repetto. 2024. "What's behind Her Smile? Health, Looks, and Self-Esteem." American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 16 (2): 359-88. DOI: 10.1257/app.20210248

Additional Materials

JEL Classification

  • D12 Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
  • D91 Micro-Based Behavioral Economics: Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
  • I12 Health Behavior
  • J16 Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
  • O12 Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
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