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The long run health returns to college quality

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  • Jason Fletcher
  • David Frisvold

Abstract

The link between education and health is one of the most robust empirical relationships in the social sciences. However, little research has examined the effects of educational quality on health outcomes. We estimate the long run relationship between health behaviors and graduating from a selective college in the 1960s using the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, which has tracked siblings for over 50 years. Importantly, we control for measures of health endowments, ability, and time preferences before college enrollment as well as shared family and environmental factors. We find large effects of college selectivity on reducing overweight for individuals in their 60s. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2014

Suggested Citation

  • Jason Fletcher & David Frisvold, 2014. "The long run health returns to college quality," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 12(2), pages 295-325, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:reveho:v:12:y:2014:i:2:p:295-325
    DOI: 10.1007/s11150-012-9150-0
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    1. Bütikofer, Aline & Ginja, Rita & Landaud, Fanny & Løken, Katrine, 2020. "School Selectivity, Peers, and Mental Health," Discussion Paper Series in Economics 21/2020, Norwegian School of Economics, Department of Economics.
    2. Joseph Sabia & Daniel Rees, 2015. "Body weight, mental health capital, and academic achievement," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 13(3), pages 653-684, September.
    3. Montez, Jennifer Karas & Zhang, Wencheng & Zajacova, Anna & Hamilton, Tod G., 2018. "Does college major matter for women's and men's health in midlife? Examining the horizontal dimensions of educational attainment," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 198(C), pages 130-138.
    4. Giorgio Brunello & Dimitris Christelis & Anna Sanz‐de‐Galdeano & Anastasia Terskaya, 2024. "Does college selectivity reduce obesity? A partial identification approach," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(10), pages 2306-2320, October.
    5. Zhuang Hao & Benjamin W. Cowan, 2019. "The Effects of Graduation Requirements on Risky Health Behaviors of High School Students," American Journal of Health Economics, MIT Press, vol. 5(1), pages 97-125, Winter.
    6. Daniel Kemptner & Jan Marcus, 2013. "Spillover effects of maternal education on child’s health and health behavior," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 11(1), pages 29-52, March.
    7. Wei-Bin Zhang, 2018. "Health, Environment, and Wealth," Izvestia Journal of the Union of Scientists - Varna. Economic Sciences Series, Union of Scientists - Varna, Economic Sciences Section, vol. 7(3), pages 109-123, December.
    8. Jason Fletcher & Hamid Noghanibehambari, 2024. "The effects of education on mortality: Evidence using college expansions," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(3), pages 541-575, March.
    9. Jason Fletcher & Hamid Noghanibehambari, 2021. "The Effects of Education on Mortality: Evidence Using College Expansions," NBER Working Papers 29423, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    10. Cao, Yuan, 2020. "Centralized assignment mechanisms and assortative matching: Evidence from Chinese universities," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 177(C), pages 255-276.
    11. Fletcher, Jason M., 2015. "New evidence of the effects of education on health in the US: Compulsory schooling laws revisited," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 101-107.
    12. Jason Fletcher & Hamid Noghanibehambari, 2023. "Toxified to the Bone: Early-Life and Childhood Exposure to Lead and Men’s Old-Age Mortality," NBER Working Papers 31957, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    13. Zhuang Hao & Benjamin W. Cowan, 2017. "The Effects of Graduation Requirements on Risky Health Behaviors of High School Students," NBER Working Papers 23803, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Health production; College quality; Obesity; I12; I21; J24;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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