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Is there a Trade-off between Remote Living and Healthy Living? The Impact of Remoteness on Body Weight

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  • Mouhcine Guettabi

    (University of Alaska Anchorage)

  • Abdul Munasib

    (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis)

Abstract

Using the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY79), we examine the relationship between Body Mass Index (BMI) and the remoteness of the county in which the individual lives. Remoteness in this study is identified by calculating the geographical position of the county with respect to metropolitan areas of different sizes (urban hierarchy) of the location. Since BMI affects where an individual chooses to live, there may be endogeneity bias. To address this concern, we identify patterns of mobility in which the choice of location is independent of BMI. In a framework that accounts for unobserved individual-level heterogeneity and sources of endogeneity bias, we show that after controlling for urban sprawl or location density, there is no systematic manner through which remoteness affects body weight.

Suggested Citation

  • Mouhcine Guettabi & Abdul Munasib, 2018. "Is there a Trade-off between Remote Living and Healthy Living? The Impact of Remoteness on Body Weight," The Review of Regional Studies, Southern Regional Science Association, vol. 48(2), pages 173-192, Summer.
    • Handle: RePEc:rre:publsh:v48:y:2018:i:2:p:173-192
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    urban hierarchy; distance; body mass index;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • R12 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Size and Spatial Distributions of Regional Economic Activity; Interregional Trade (economic geography)
    • R14 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Land Use Patterns

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