Relative Obesity and the Formation of Noncognitive Abilities during Adolescence

Wei Huang, Elaine M. Liu and C. Andrew Zuppann

Journal of Human Resources, 2022, vol. 57, issue 6, 2086-2112

Abstract: We study the role of relative childhood and adolescent obesity in the development of noncognitive abilities. We employ a novel identification strategy, utilizing the fact that one’s body size is a relative concept and there are large variations in body sizes across MSAs. We focus on children who move between MSAs. Controlling for origin–destination state pair fixed effects, we find that a ten percentile point increase in relative body size would increase behavioral problems by two percentile points. This effect is of a similar magnitude to a two-year reduction in maternal education.

JEL-codes: I1 I12 J3 J31 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
Note: DOI: 10.3368/jhr.58.2.1018-9812R2
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:uwp:jhriss:v:57:y:2022:i:6:p:2086-2112

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