Body shape and labor market dynamics: analyzing salary information asymmetry and bargaining power

Research extensively explores inequalities in employment opportunities, wages, and prices related to body shape. However, there's a gap in understanding how body shapes affect salary information and bargaining dynamics. Using 2020 China Family Panel Studies (CFPS), this study employs a two-tier stochastic frontier model to analyze shifts in salary information and bargaining power among employees (university graduates) and employers of various body types. Key findings include: (1) Information asymmetry significantly influences price, favoring employers with more information. (2) Normal-range BMI employees tend to receive more salary information and have stronger bargaining power, while severely obese employees receive less information and experience greater net surplus depletion. (3) Height correlates positively with information acquisition and net surplus. (4) Women generally experience lower surplus gains compared to men across BMI levels. (5) Contracted employees, regardless of BMI, tend to have higher average salary information than non-contracted employees.