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BMI and Employment: Is There an Overweight Premium?

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  • Paolo Nicola Barbieri

    (University of Gothenburg)

Abstract

Using pooled data from the Health Survey of England (HSE) and a semi-parametric regression model, this paper aims to estimate the relationship between body weight and employment probability. We show that employment probabilities do not follow a linear relationship and are highest at a body weight over the clinical threshold for overweight. Instead of an “obesity penalty” we find evidence of an “overweight premium”, especially in socially active jobs. These results suggests that there might exists an endogenous social norm governing body weight judgments and influencing employment prospects, which has been recently updated due to an increase in average body weight.

Suggested Citation

  • Paolo Nicola Barbieri, 2018. "BMI and Employment: Is There an Overweight Premium?," Italian Economic Journal: A Continuation of Rivista Italiana degli Economisti and Giornale degli Economisti, Springer;Società Italiana degli Economisti (Italian Economic Association), vol. 4(3), pages 523-548, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:italej:v:4:y:2018:i:3:d:10.1007_s40797-018-0080-8
    DOI: 10.1007/s40797-018-0080-8
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    Cited by:

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    4. 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).
    5. Kesaite, Viktorija & Greve, Jane, 2024. "The impact of excess body weight on employment outcomes: A systematic review of the evidence," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Overweight; England; Employment; Semiparametric regression; Gender differences;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C14 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General - - - Semiparametric and Nonparametric Methods: General
    • I10 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - General
    • I14 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Inequality
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • J71 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - Hiring and Firing

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