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Income windfalls and overweight: evidence from lottery wins

Author

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  • Joan Costa-Font

    (London School of Economics and Political Science)

  • Mario Györi

    (London School of Economics and Political Science)

Abstract

We examine the impact of an income windfall (from a lottery win) on an individual's overweight and Body Mass Index (BMI). We use longitudinal data from the United Kingdom, where a large proportion of the population plays the lottery, and retrieve income effect estimates using time and individual specific fixed effects alongside a set of relevant controls. Although our findings suggest any income windfall may lead to a contemporaneous increase in overweight, we document evidence that a £1,000 win reduces the probability of overweight in the range by up to 3 percentual points 12 months after the lottery win. Estimates are heterogeneous across working hours and educational attainment. A £1000 lottery win reduces the risk of overweight among low educated individuals by 4.5–5 percentual points (pp)12 months after the lottery win.

Suggested Citation

  • Joan Costa-Font & Mario Györi, 2023. "Income windfalls and overweight: evidence from lottery wins," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 64(5), pages 2005-2026, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:empeco:v:64:y:2023:i:5:d:10.1007_s00181-022-02312-7
    DOI: 10.1007/s00181-022-02312-7
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    Cited by:

    1. Belloc, Ignacio & Molina, José Alberto & Velilla, Jorge, 2023. "Household Wealth and Body Mass Index: Towards a Healthy Ageing?," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1354, Global Labor Organization (GLO).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Obesity; Overweight; Income; Windfall income; Lottery wins; Body mass index (BMI);
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • J30 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - General

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