Economics Research Papers

Intergenerational Relationships of Obesity

We estimate the influence of child and parental characteristics on the likelihood that a child will become an obese or overweight youth. We use results from these binary-outcome models to test whether it is possible to forecast obesity and overweight among youth. We find that a model using childhood covariates does as well in forecasting youth obesity and overweight as a model using the covariate values contemporaneous with the youth obesity and overweight outcomes. Explanatory variables that significantly influence the likelihood of youth obesity or overweight outcomes include the mother's obesity status and education, the youth's birthweight, and certain demographic features including race, sex, and family size. An unpublished appendix with additional results is available here.

This research provides estimates of the intergenerational correlation of Body Mass Index (BMI) between women and their children when both are at similar stages of the life cycle. Prior studies of the economic consequences of obesity have found a significant relationship between weight status and economic outcomes such as income. Thus, the transmission of weight problems between generations may explain a portion of previous estimates of intergenerational correlations of economic status. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY79) and the Young Adults of the NLSY79, the weight status of women and their children is compared when both generations are between the ages of 16 and 24. In the entire sample, the measured correlation of BMI is roughly 0.35. This result differs by gender with a BMI correlation between female children and their mothers of 0.38, compared to a significantly lower BMI correlation of 0.32 between mothers and their sons. Measures of this relationship across the distribution indicate that the intergenerational persistence of BMI is strongest at higher levels of BMI. These results provide evidence of the strong persistence of weight problems across generations that may explain a portion of the relatively lower levels of economic mobility found in recent studies.

Obesity and Education

The research developed in this paper estimates the role of weight status in intergenerational correlations of educational attainment between women and their children. I consider a model of how obesity may influence the accumulation of human capital and its correlation across generations. Credit constraints for low-income families (who are at higher risk of obesity) are likely to amplify this correlation. Prior studies have found a causal relationship between weight status and economic outcomes, such as income. Thus, the transmission of obesity between generations may explain a portion of the estimates of intergenerational mobility previously characterized. Utilizing data on women in the NLSY79 and their children, I find that obese and overweight daughters accumulate less education than their peers. The direction of this contemporaneous relationship is reversed in boys, with obese and overweight sons having higher levels of education than those with BMI levels in the desired range.

This research examines whether the influence of obesity in late adolescence on education accumulation has changed over time as rates of obesity have increased substantially over the previous three decades. Previous studies have indicated that obesity has asymmetric consequences between genders on socioeconomic outcomes such as income, wealth and education. The results in this paper allow for comparisons of the influence of obesity on education accumulation as the proportion of adolescents with weight problems varies considerably over time. I utilize data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY79) and the children of women in the NLSY79 to estimate the relationships of interest. I find that women in both generations who were obese in late adolescence are less likely to attend college than their peers with weight levels in the recommended range. As well, obese females are less likely to graduate high school, with a larger effect in the earlier generation when obesity was relatively rare. I do not find any significant relationship between obesity and college attendance or high school graduation for males in either generation. These asymmetric results between genders are consistent with previous evidence that obese women face a wage penalty relative to their non-obese peers, while obese males do not.

The research developed in this paper estimates the role of relative weight status during high school in lifetime educational attainment. This project attempts to discern some of the potential underlying reasons for the differential effect of obesity on educational attainment across genders. I examine the role of relative weight status within one’s high school to consider whether having weight levels at higher points in one’s local distribution of weight is associated with lower levels of education accumulation. I find that females with relatively higher weight levels (compared to other females within their high school) are less likely to attend college than their peers. There appears to be a much weaker relationship between weight status and education accumulation among males. Contrary to previous findings, measures of relative weight status indicate that males with higher BMI levels may be less likely to attend college.

Macro-level Influences on Suicide

This paper examines the effect of election outcomes on suicide rates by combining the theory of social integration developed by Durkheim with the models of rational choice used in economics. Theory predicts that states with a greater percentage of residents who supported the losing candidate would tend to exhibit a relative increase in suicide rates. However, being around others who also supported the losing candidate may indicate a greater degree of social integration thereby lowering relative suicide rates. Using fixed-effects regression of state suicide rates from 1981 to 2005 on state election outcomes during presidential elections, we find the latter effect is dominant. States that supported the losing candidate exhibit lower suicide rates relative to states that supported the winning candidate—4.6% lower for males and 5.3% lower for females. Implications for economic interventions after disasters are discussed.

Food Stamp Program Design, Obesity and Food Insecurity

Experimental Economics

This research studies results from two types of Dictator Game experiments involving repetition of play, role switching and outside options. When players switch roles during play, a significantly larger portion of the available surplus is claimed by Dictators and results conform more closely to predictions of self-interested subgame perfection than in previous Dictator Game studies. Outside options are frequently rejected and found not to have consistent significant effects on Dictator play following entry.

Appendices