The Dynamic Effects of Obesity on the Wages of Young Workers

54 Pages Posted: 14 Dec 2014 Last revised: 12 Dec 2016

Date Written: October 12, 2016

Abstract

This paper considers effects of body mass on wages in the years following labor market entry. The preferred models allow current wages to be affected by both past and current body mass, as well as past wages, while also addressing the endogeneity of body mass. I find that a history of severe obesity has a large negative effect on the wages of white men. White women face a penalty for a history of being overweight, with some evidence of additional penalties that begin above the threshold for severe obesity. Furthermore, the effects of past wages on current wages imply that past body mass has additional, indirect effects on wages, especially for white women.

Keywords: Body mass, obesity, wages, discrimination, dynamic panel data models

JEL Classification: I1, J7, J31

Suggested Citation

Pinkston, Joshua C., The Dynamic Effects of Obesity on the Wages of Young Workers (October 12, 2016). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2537554 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2537554

Joshua C. Pinkston (Contact Author)

University of Louisville ( email )

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