Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP5848
Authors: Thomas Bauer; Silja Ghlmann; Mathias Sinning
Abstract: This paper investigates gender differences in smoking behaviour using data from the German Socio-economic Panel (SOEP). We develop a Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition method for count data models which allows to isolate the part of the gender differential in the number of cigarettes daily smoked that can be explained by differences in observable characteristics from the part attributable to differences in coefficients. Our results reveal that the major part of the gender smoking differential is attributable to differences in coefficients indicating substantial differences in the smoking behaviour between men and women rather than differences in characteristics.
Keywords: Blinder-Oaxaca Decomposition; Count Data Models; Gender Differences; Smoking; SOEP
JEL Codes: C25; I12
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| gender (J16) | differences in smoking behavior (I12) |
| observable characteristics (C90) | differences in smoking behavior (I12) |
| differences in coefficients (C29) | differences in smoking behavior (I12) |