Suchergebnisse

The main objective of the study is threefold: first, to examine the role of attractiveness in the Czech labour market; second, to assess gender differences in returns of attractiveness; and third, to show that the positive association between attractiveness and earnings does not disappear even when cognitive skills, social background, occupational status and individual characteristics are controlled for. The study uses data from the first large-scale sociological survey focusing on attractiveness carried out in the Czech Republic. The results provide strong evidence for the hypothesis that, in general, more attractive people have a better chance of higher socioeconomic occupational status as well as higher incomes than less attractive individuals even when controlling for cognitive skills, social background, occupational status and personality. However, the analysis also shows that the relationships are different for men and women. The study finds that the income premium for attractiveness is markedly higher among prime-aged women than men. The authors conclude that there have been profound changes in the last 30–40 years in the Western world and that the importance of physical attractiveness and erotic capital has been increasing, especially for women.

Purpose
Consistent with dual-process models of behaviour, Miles (2015) has shown that Schwartz' basic values can provide a valuable framework for empirically analysing the role of values and cultural contexts in driving human behaviour. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to this line of research by distinguishing individual values from macro-level values, as well as from other micro- and macro-conditions, in order to test whether individual values shape women's work-family orientations in ways predicted by Hakim's preference theory.


Design/methodology/approach
The authors make use of the second round of the European Social Survey (ESS) collected in 2004, where a battery of questions on human values and work-family preferences were posed, and apply a multilevel approach to take into account national cultural and economic conditions across 25 European countries.


Findings
In line with the dual-process model and preference theory, the authors show that internalised values, particularly conservatism, shape work-family orientations much more than national social and cultural conditions; in addition, the effect of women's education on work-value orientations is stronger in countries with more conservative national cultures, suggesting that education may help women overcome social barriers in the choice of their work-career preference.


Originality/value
While values may shape work-family orientations differently in non-European or less affluent cultures, these findings reveal the importance of bringing values back into the analysis of individual preferences and behaviours towards the labour market.