Are Restaurants Really Supersizing America?

Michael Anderson and David A. Matsa

American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 2011, vol. 3, issue 1, 152-88

Abstract: While many researchers and policymakers infer from correlations between eating out and body weight that restaurants are a leading cause of obesity, a basic identification problem challenges these conclusions. We exploit the placement of Interstate Highways in rural areas to obtain exogenous variation in the effective price of restaurants and examine the impact on body mass. We find no causal link between restaurant consumption and obesity. Analysis of food-intake micro-data suggests that consumers offset calories from restaurant meals by eating less at other times. We conclude that regulation targeting restaurants is unlikely to reduce obesity but could decrease consumer welfare. (JEL I12, I18, L51, L66)

JEL-codes: I12 I18 L51 L66 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011
Note: DOI: 10.1257/app.3.1.152
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (119)

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Related works:
Working Paper: Are Restaurants Really Supersizing America? (2010)
Working Paper: Are Restaurants Really Supersizing America? (2007)
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