Working Paper: NBER ID: w11343
Authors: Dalton Conley; Rebecca Glauber
Abstract: Previous research on the effect of body mass on economic outcomes has used a variety of methods to mitigate endogeneity bias. We extend this research by using an older sample of U.S. individuals from the PSID. This sample allows us to examine age-gender interactive effects. Through sibling-random and fixed effects models, we find that a one percent increase in a woman's body mass results in a .6 percentage point decrease in her family income and a .4 percentage point decrease in her occupational prestige measured 13 to 15 years later. Body mass is also associated with a reduction in a woman's likelihood of marriage, her spouse's occupational prestige, and her spouse's earnings. However, consistent with past research, men experience no negative effects of body mass on economic outcomes. Age splits show that it is among younger adults where BMI effects are most robust, lending support to the interpretation that it is BMI causing occupational outcomes and not the reverse.
Keywords: Body Mass Index; Economic Status; Gender; Occupational Prestige; Family Income
JEL Codes: I0
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Body Mass Index (BMI) (I32) | Likelihood of Marriage (J12) |
| Body Mass Index (BMI) (I32) | Likelihood of Divorce/Separation/Widowhood (J12) |
| Husbands' Body Mass Index (BMI) (J12) | Wives' Earnings (J31) |
| Body Mass Index (BMI) (I32) | Economic Outcomes for Men (J79) |
| Body Mass Index (BMI) (I32) | Family Income (D31) |
| Body Mass Index (BMI) (I32) | Occupational Prestige (J62) |
| Body Mass Index (BMI) (I32) | Economic Outcomes for Women (F63) |