The Impact of Education on Health and Health Behavior in a Middle-Income, Low-Education Country

Resul Cesur (), Bahadir Dursun and Naci Mocan

No 20764, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: Although the impact of education on health is important for economic policy in developing countries, the overwhelming majority of research to identify the health returns to education has been done using data from developed countries. We use data from three waves of a nationally-representative health survey, conducted between 2008 and 2012 in Turkey, and exploit an education reform that increased the mandatory years of schooling from 5 to 8 years in 1997. Using exposure to the reform as an instrument for education, we find that for women ages 18-30, education has no impact on self-reported health, BMI, overweight, obesity, or on the propensity or intensity of smoking. Education does not influence women’s daily consumption of fruits, vegetables, or their propensity to get a flu shot either. The same results are obtained for men of the same age group with one exception: education increases men’s BMI and the propensity to be overweight and obese. Potential explanations for these findings are provided.

JEL-codes: I1 I12 I15 I21 I25 I26 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014-12
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ara, nep-cwa and nep-hea
Note: CH DEV ED EH PE
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (39)

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