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Title: The Wage Effects of Obesity: A Longitudinal Study
Resulting in 1 citation.
1. Baum, Charles L., II
Ford, William F.
The Wage Effects of Obesity: A Longitudinal Study
Health Economics 13,9 (September 2004): 885-899.
Also: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/hec.881/pdf
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Wiley Online
Keyword(s): Behavioral Differences; Discrimination, Job; Gender; Health Factors; Obesity; Variables, Independent - Covariate; Wage Effects; Wages, Men; Wages, Women

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

We use National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) data to examine the effects of obesity on wages by gender. Sample means indicate that both men and women experience a persistent obesity wage penalty over the first two decades of their careers. We then control for a standard set of socioeconomic and familial variables but find that standard covariates do not explain why obese workers experience persistent wage penalties. This suggests that other variables -- including job discrimination, health-related factors and/or obese workers' behavior patterns -- may be the channels through which obesity adversely affects wages. The study closes with a discussion of the public policy implications suggested by these findings.
Bibliography Citation
Baum, Charles L., II and William F. Ford. "The Wage Effects of Obesity: A Longitudinal Study." Health Economics 13,9 (September 2004): 885-899.