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Author: Zakir, Hussain
Resulting in 2 citations.
1. Zakir, Hussain
Three Essays on Health and Labor Economics
Ph.D. Dissertation, Middle Tennessee State University, 2012
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79
Publisher: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses (PQDT)
Keyword(s): Assets; Behavior Problems Index (BPI); Commuting/Type, Time, Method; Debt/Borrowing; Exercise; Family Income; Modeling, Fixed Effects; Net Worth; Obesity; Propensity Scores; Stress; Weight

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

This dissertation consists of three chapters, each providing useful information of current economic issues. The first chapter, "Does Financial Stress Lead to Weight Gain? An Empirical Analysis on the Effects of Net Worth on Body Weight" examines the effects of financial stress caused due to variations in net worth on the respondents body weight. The results indicate that net worth variation is a significant contributor to increases in body weight. Further examination reveals that individuals from indebted households and households with modest net worth are most likely to be gaining body weight. In the second chapter, "Does Walking or Riding a Bike to School Reduce Obesity? Evidence from the NLSY 1979 using Propensity Score Matching." I use the appropriate methodology to select a sample comparable to a treatment consisting of individuals who choose to walk or bike to school and find that those who walk or bike to school are likely to have significantly lower body weight measures. In the third chapter, I use nationally representative longitudinal data from 1986 to 2008 to consider the financial stress caused to mothers due to the variations in their net worth and analyze the effects that it has on the behavioral aspects of their children.
Bibliography Citation
Zakir, Hussain. Three Essays on Health and Labor Economics. Ph.D. Dissertation, Middle Tennessee State University, 2012.
2. Zakir, Hussain
Zietz, Joachim
Does Walking or Riding a Bike to School Reduce Obesity? Evidence from the NLSY 1979 using Propensity Score Matching
Presented: St. Louis MO, Midwest Economics Association Annual Meeting, March 18-20, 2011
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Midwest Economics Association
Keyword(s): Body Mass Index (BMI); Commuting/Type, Time, Method; Exercise; Obesity; Physical Activity (see also Exercise); Propensity Scores; Transportation

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

This presentation assesses whether walking or riding a bike to school reduces obesity. High school and college students who walk or ride a bike to school are compared to those students who could have walked or ridden a bike to school but did not. The analysis employs Propensity Score Matching (PSM). This methodology enables comparison between two otherwise very similar groups which vary only on the basis of one characteristic, in this case, walking or biking to school. The likelihood of an individual’s decision to walk or bike to school, the propensity score, is determined on the basis of several observable characteristics which are available in the data. Using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) 1979 cohort, a nationally representative survey, I find statistically significant evidence that students who walk or ride a bike to school have lower levels of BMI and obesity and are less overweight than those in the control group. When college students are included in the sample, the effect continues to remain consistent and statistically significant.
Bibliography Citation
Zakir, Hussain and Joachim Zietz. "Does Walking or Riding a Bike to School Reduce Obesity? Evidence from the NLSY 1979 using Propensity Score Matching." Presented: St. Louis MO, Midwest Economics Association Annual Meeting, March 18-20, 2011.