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Self discrimination: A field experiment on obesity

Author

Listed:
  • Antonios Proestakisy

    (Institute for Health and Consumer Protection, Joint Research Centre, European Commission)

  • Pablo Branas-Garza

    (Middlesex University Business School, Middlesex University London)

  • Praveen Kujal

    (Middlesex University London)

Abstract

Empirical evidence suggests that physical characteristics such as obesity can result in a salary gap in the work place. It is, however, not clear how much of this (gap) is due to factors emanating from the demand or supply side of the market. In this paper we use a field experiment to study whether a part of this wage gap can be attributed to personality traits of individuals on the supply side. Monitors randomly select individuals to respond to a questionnaire. Individuals can make money requests for completing the questionnaire. In the questionnaire they also self-report several personality chracteristics. We nd that the more obese individuals perceive themselves to be, lesser is the money they request. The negative association between money requests and obesity is mostly driven by female participants. The e ect of (self-perceived) non-obese individuals is asymmetric across gender. Self perceived "normal" females, perceived thin by the monitors, request more, meanwhile, males in this category request less relative to those that do not overstate their obesity levels. Our results suggest that lower salary request may anchor obese individuals to lower thresholds and may partly explain the wage gap.

Suggested Citation

  • Antonios Proestakisy & Pablo Branas-Garza & Praveen Kujal, 2014. "Self discrimination: A field experiment on obesity," Working Papers 14-13, Chapman University, Economic Science Institute.
  • Handle: RePEc:chu:wpaper:14-13
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    Blog mentions

    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. Obese People Self-Discriminate
      by Christopher Shea in Ideas Market on 2012-02-08 01:04:53
    2. Obese self-discriminators
      by Economic Logician in Economic Logic on 2012-02-02 21:19:00

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Self-reported obesity; eld experiments; willingness to accept; gender bias;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C93 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Field Experiments
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination

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