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The Effects of Female Labor Force Participation on Obesity

Author

Listed:
  • Pedro Gomis-Porqueras

    (Department of Economics, University of Miami)

  • Oscar Mitnik

    (Department of Economics, University of Miami)

  • Adrian Peralta-Alva

    (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis)

  • Maximilian D. Schmeiser

    (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis)

Abstract

This paper assesses whether a causal relationship exists between recent increases in female labor force participation and the increased prevalence of obesity amongst women. The expansions of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) in the 1980s and 1990s have been established by prior literature as having generated variation in female labor supply, particularly amongst single mothers. Here, we use this plausibly exogenous variation in female labor supply to identify the effect of labor force participation on obesity status. We use data from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) and replicate labor supply effects of the EITC expansions found in previous literature. This validates employing a difference-in-differences estimation strategy in the NHIS data, as has been done in several other data sets. Depending on the specification, we find that increased labor force participation can account for at most 19% of the observed change in obesity prevalence over our sample period. Our preferred specification, however, suggests that there is no causal link between increased female labor force participation and increased obesity.

Suggested Citation

  • Pedro Gomis-Porqueras & Oscar Mitnik & Adrian Peralta-Alva & Maximilian D. Schmeiser, 2011. "The Effects of Female Labor Force Participation on Obesity," Working Papers 2011-16, University of Miami, Department of Economics.
  • Handle: RePEc:mia:wpaper:2011-16
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Kelli A Komro & Phenesse Dunlap & Nolan Sroczynski & Melvin D Livingston & Megan A Kelly & Dawn Pepin & Sara Markowitz & Shelby Rentmeester & Alexander C Wagenaar, 2020. "Anti-poverty policy and health: Attributes and diffusion of state earned income tax credits across U.S. states from 1980 to 2020," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(11), pages 1-18, November.
    2. Daouli, Joan & Davillas, Apostolos & Demoussis, Michael & Giannakopoulos, Nicholas, 2013. "The determinants of body mass in Greece: Evidence from the National Health Survey," MPRA Paper 66392, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Rachel Griffith & Wenchao (Michelle) Jin & Valérie Lechene, 2022. "The decline of home‐cooked food," Fiscal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 43(2), pages 105-120, June.
    4. Daouli, Joan & Davillas, Apostolos & Demoussis, Michael & Giannakopoulos, Nicholas, 2014. "Obesity persistence and duration dependence: Evidence from a cohort of US adults (1985–2010)," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 12(C), pages 30-44.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Female Labor Force Participation; Obesity; Earned Income Tax Credit;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H31 - Public Economics - - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents - - - Household
    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply

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