Working Paper: NBER ID: w23901
Authors: Jaegeum Lim; Jonathan Meer
Abstract: Obesity among children is an important public health concern, and social networks may play a role in students' habits that increase the likelihood of being overweight. We examine data from South Korean middle schools, where students are randomly assigned to classrooms, and exploit the variation in peer body mass index. We use the number of peers' siblings as an instrument to account for endogeneity concerns and measurement error. Heavier peers increase the likelihood that a student is heavier; there is no spurious correlation for height, which is unlikely to have peer contagion. Public policy that targets obesity can have spillovers through social networks.
Keywords: No keywords provided
JEL Codes: I12; J13
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Average peer BMI (C92) | Student's BMI (I10) |
| Average peer BMI (C92) | Probability of being classified as overweight (C46) |
| Peer BMI (I32) | Student's BMI (I10) |
| Peer BMI (I32) | Probability of being classified as overweight (C46) |
| Peer BMI (I32) | Subsequent grades Student's BMI (I24) |