Daniel Hamermesh, an economist at the University of Texas-Austin and a regular New York Times contributor, will next week give a talk at the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa about the role and perception of beauty in society.
The free public lecture, “Beauty Pays,” will be held at 6 p.m. Jan. 14, at the Center for Korean Studies auditorium. 
According to a news release issued by UH-Manoa, Hamermesh will examine issues such as beauty discrimination; hiring of good-looking people as company strategy; and whether government should offer affirmative action programs for “ugly” people. He will also address this question: “If good looks make people more productive, and does buying clothing and beauty treatments raise earning power?"
Last year, Worth Publishers printed the third edition of his “Economics Is Everywhere,” a series of 400 vignettes designed to illustrate the ubiquity of economics in everyday life and how simple tools in a microeconomics principles class can be used.  Current vignettes are included on the freakonomics blog. 
     On-campus parking is available for $5 after 4 p.m.  There is a flat rate fee of $4 for parking in campus parking structures prior to 4 p.m. For more information, contact Timothy Halliday at 956-8615.