Do Pimples Pay?

Surprisingly, yes. While being a social cost, acne pays dividends. In particular for women. That is the result of the paper

Do Pimples Pay? Acne, Human Capital, and the Labor Market

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.

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Students reporting skin problems have higher grades in classes; are slightly older, slightly more likely to be female, and much more likely to be white or Asian; report lower levels of self-esteem and social acceptance; are less likely to be in sports clubs but more likely to be in nonsports clubs; and are slightly less likely to live with their father and mother and to have been born in the United States.

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We find some evidence suggesting that the associations we estimate may be causal to some degree. First, we find that acne is strongly related to fixed and observable characteristics, including gender, race, and age, but not generally related to socioeconomic characteristics, including living with one’s mother or father or the educational level of one’s mother or father, suggesting that having acne may have an exogenous component. Second, we find some evidence for the theory that having acne leads teens to be less social and to focus more on studying or brainwork, which may increase their educational attainment. Specifically, we find that having acne is associated with feeling less socially accepted and is associated with participating less in sports clubs and more in nonsports clubs, suggesting a possible shift from physical to intellectual pursuits.