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Separating boys and girls and increasing weight? Assessing the impacts of single-sex schools through random assignment in Seoul

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  • Choi, Jaesung
  • Park, Hyunjoon
  • Behrman, Jere R.

Abstract

A growing body of research reports associations of school contexts with adolescents' weight and weight-related behaviors. One interesting, but under-researched, dimension of school context that potentially matters for adolescents' weight is the gender composition. If boys and girls are separated into single-sex schools, they might be less concerned about physical appearance, which may result in increased weight. Utilizing a unique setting in Seoul, Korea where students are randomly assigned to single-sex and coeducational schools within school districts, we estimate causal effects of single-sex schools on weight and weight-related behaviors. Our results show that students attending single-sex schools are more likely to be overweight, and that the effects are more pronounced for girls. We also find that girls in single-sex schools are less likely to engage in strenuous activities than their coeducational counterparts.

Suggested Citation

  • Choi, Jaesung & Park, Hyunjoon & Behrman, Jere R., 2015. "Separating boys and girls and increasing weight? Assessing the impacts of single-sex schools through random assignment in Seoul," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 1-11.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:134:y:2015:i:c:p:1-11
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.03.053
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Lee, Youngju & Nakazawa, Nobuhiko, 2022. "Does single-sex schooling help or hurt labor market outcomes? Evidence from a natural experiment in South Korea," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 214(C).
    2. Eleanor Jawon Choi & Hyungsik Roger Moon & Geert Ridder, 2019. "Within-District School Lotteries, District Selection, and the Average Partial Effects of School Inputs," Korean Economic Review, Korean Economic Association, vol. 35, pages 275-306.
    3. Park, Hyunjoon & Behrman, Jere R. & Choi, Jaesung, 2018. "Do single-sex schools enhance students’ STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) outcomes?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 35-47.
    4. Dustmann, Christian & Ku, Hyejin & Kwak, Do Won, 2018. "Why Are Single-Sex Schools Successful?," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 79-99.

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