THE IMPACT OF BODY WEIGHT ON OCCUPATIONAL MOBILITY AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT

Matthew Harris

International Economic Review, 2019, vol. 60, issue 2, 631-660

Abstract: This article examines the relationship between individuals' weight and employment decisions over the life cycle. I estimate a dynamic stochastic model of individuals' annual choices of occupation, hours worked, and schooling. Evidence suggests that heavier individuals face higher switching costs when transitioning into white‐collar occupations, earn lower returns to experience in white‐collar occupations, and earn lower wages in socially intensive jobs. I simulate a hypothetical antidiscrimination policy treating obese workers as a protected class. Although such a policy would reduce gaps in occupational attainment, it would have little effect on the observed divergence in wages between obese and nonobese workers.

Date: 2019
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https://doi.org/10.1111/iere.12364

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Working Paper: The impact of body weight on occupational mobility and career development (2015)
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