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Obesity and labor market outcomes

Author

Listed:
  • Susan L. Averett

    (Lafayette College, USA, and IZA, Germany)

Abstract

Rising obesity is a pressing global public health problem responsible for rising health care costs and in some countries one of the leading causes of preventable deaths. There is substantial evidence that obese people are less likely to be employed and, when employed, earn lower wages. There is some evidence that the lower earnings are a result of discriminatory hiring and sorting into jobs with less customer contact. Understanding whether obesity is associated with adverse labor market outcomes and ascertaining the source of these outcomes are essential for designing effective public policy.

Suggested Citation

  • Susan L. Averett, 2019. "Obesity and labor market outcomes," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 1-32, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izawol:journl:2019:n:32
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Zoltán J. Ács & Alan Lyles (ed.), 2007. "Obesity, Business and Public Policy," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 3922.
    2. Burkhauser, Richard V. & Cawley, John, 2008. "Beyond BMI: The value of more accurate measures of fatness and obesity in social science research," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(2), pages 519-529, March.
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    5. Dan-Olof Rooth, 2009. "Obesity, Attractiveness, and Differential Treatment in Hiring: A Field Experiment," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 44(3).
    6. John Cawley, 2004. "The Impact of Obesity on Wages," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 39(2).
    7. Marion Devaux & Franco Sassi & Jody Church & Michele Cecchini & Francesca Borgonovi, 2011. "Exploring the Relationship Between Education and Obesity," OECD Journal: Economic Studies, OECD Publishing, vol. 2011(1), pages 1-40.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Pekkurnaz, Didem, 2023. "Causal effect of obesity on the probability of employment in women in Turkey," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    2. Dolado, Juan J. & Minale, Luigi & Guerra, Airam, 2023. "Uncovering the roots of obesity-based wage discrimination: The role of job characteristics," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    3. Christian Dustmann & Malte Sandner & Uta Schönberg, 2024. "The Effects of Sun Intensity during Pregnancy and in the First 12 Months of Life on Childhood Obesity," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 59(6), pages 1683-1713.
    4. Will Cook, 2019. "The effect of personalised weight feedback on weight loss and health behaviours: Evidence from a regression discontinuity design," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(1), pages 161-172, January.
    5. Masanori Kuroki, 2019. "The missing obese men? Labour force participation and obesity among prime-age men in the United States," Journal of Population Research, Springer, vol. 36(1), pages 65-80, March.
    6. Elena Rodriguez-Alvarez & Nerea Lanborena & Luisa N. Borrell, 2018. "Obesity Inequalities According to Place of Birth: The Role of Education," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-10, July.
    7. Groves, Jeremy & Wilcox, Virginia, 2023. "The impact of overweight and obesity on unemployment duration among young American workers," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    8. Willage, Barton, 2018. "The effect of weight on mental health: New evidence using genetic IVs," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 113-130.
    9. Lorenz, Olga & Goerke, Laszlo, 2016. "“Is your commute really making you fat?”: The causal effect of commuting distance on height-adjusted weight," VfS Annual Conference 2016 (Augsburg): Demographic Change 145569, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    10. Nuñez, Roy, 2020. "Obesity and labor market in Peru," MPRA Paper 105621, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. Campos-Vazquez, Raymundo M. & Gonzalez, Eva, 2020. "Obesity and hiring discrimination," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 37(C).
    12. Raymundo M. Campos-Vazquez & Roy Nuñez, 2019. "Obesity and labor market outcomes in Mexico/Obesidad y el mercado de trabajo en México," Estudios Económicos, El Colegio de México, Centro de Estudios Económicos, vol. 34(2), pages 159-196.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    obesity; BMI; wages; employment; occupation; absenteeism;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J7 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination
    • J78 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - Public Policy (including comparable worth)
    • J71 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - Hiring and Firing

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