Obama or Trump? Conservatives are ‘better looking than lefties’, experts say
The research found people will vote for politicans they think are more beautiful if they are unsure of policies
IT seems even politicians aren't immune from being judged by their physical appearance - a new study has found the attractiveness of a candidate is linked to their policies.
Not only that, but the study authors deduced that attractive looks could be the deciding factor for voters in “low information elections”.
The research indicates that people in Europe, the US and Australia find right-wing politicians more attractive.
The academic study gave MPs a score out of nine for how handsome or beautiful they are, putting the results in a spreadsheet, and concluding that conservatives are the best looking of the bunch,
“The general appreciation of beauty among voters means that politicians on the right, who look better on average, have an advantage in elections,” the study, published in the Journal of Public Economics, concluded.
“Their beauty advantage, all else equal, makes candidates on the right more likely to win office and implement their preferred policies.”
But the impact is far from trivial, the authors said, with “the character of economic and social policy” potentially swayed by the physical attributes of the candidates.
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The authors continued: "Since good-looking politicians win more votes, a beauty advantage for politicians on the left or on the right is bound to have political consequences.
"Our explanation is that beautiful people earn more, which makes them less inclined to support redistribution."
The research suggests people are more likely to use beauty as a deciding factor when they are unsure how to vote.
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