Is Smoking Behavior Culturally Determined? Evidence from British Immigrants

Rebekka Christopoulou and Dean R. Lillard

No 19036, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: We exploit migration patterns from the UK to Australia, South Africa, and the US to investigate whether a person's decision to smoke is determined by culture. For each country, we use retrospective data to describe individual smoking trajectories over the life-course. For the UK, we use these trajectories to measure culture by cohort and cohort-age, and more accurately relative to the extant literature. Our proxy predicts smoking participation of second-generation British immigrants but not that of non-British immigrants and natives. Researchers can apply our strategy to estimate culture effects on other outcomes when retrospective or longitudinal data are available.

JEL-codes: I10 J15 Z10 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013-05
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hea and nep-mig
Note: EH
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

Published as Christopoulou, Rebekka & Lillard, Dean R., 2015. "Is smoking behavior culturally determined? Evidence from British immigrants," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 78-90.

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Journal Article: Is smoking behavior culturally determined? Evidence from British immigrants (2015)
Working Paper: Is Smoking Behavior Culturally Determined?: Evidence from British Immigrants (2013)
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