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UT Economist: Beauty is Good for Business

Being a good looking person will help your business and make you wealthier, according to a new book by University of Texas economist Daniel Hamermesh.

"Most of us, regardless of our professed attitudes, prefer as customers to buy from better-looking salespeople, as jurors to listen to better-looking attorneys, as voters to be led by better-looking politicians, as students to learn from better-looking professors," Hamermesh wrote this weekend in an op-ed that appeared in the New York Times.

In his new book,Beauty Pays, Hamermesh examines his own research and other studies from around the world to conclude that an individual's physical appearance can have a direct impact on his or her economic success.  Check out the video above, produced by UT Austin, for a sampling of his argument.

Nathan Bernier is the transportation reporter at KUT. He covers the big projects that are reshaping how we get around Austin, like the I-35 overhaul, the airport's rapid growth and the multibillion dollar transit expansion Project Connect. He also focuses on the daily changes that affect how we walk, bike and drive around the city. Got a tip? Email him at nbernier@kut.org. Follow him on Twitter @KUTnathan.