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Labor Market Engagement and the Health of Working Adults: Evidence from India

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  • Archana Dang
  • Pushkar Maitra
  • Nidhiya Menon

Abstract

Driven by rapid income growth, labor market transitions in the nature of jobs, and lifestyle factors, there has been a widespread increase in rates of overweight and obesity in many developing countries. This paper examines the effect of occupational engagement and work intensity on the weight of urban working women and men in India. Using nationally representative data, specifications that reflect different definitions of work, and empirical methods that correct for the influence of unobservables, we document that labor market inactivity is positively associated with BMI. Women engaged in white collar work are about 4.12% heavier than those in blue collar work. For working men, the comparable estimate is about 4.81%. Our paper adds to the fairly limited evidence on the relationship between the labor market engagement and health in developing countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Archana Dang & Pushkar Maitra & Nidhiya Menon, 2018. "Labor Market Engagement and the Health of Working Adults: Evidence from India," Boston University - Department of Economics - The Institute for Economic Development Working Papers Series dp-305, Boston University - Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:bos:iedwpr:dp-305
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    Cited by:

    1. Brinda Viswanathan & Archana Agnihotri, 2020. "Double Burden of Malnutrition in India: Decadal Changes among Adult Men and Women," Working Papers 2020-200, Madras School of Economics,Chennai,India.
    2. Pushkar Maitra & Nidhiya Menon, 2019. "Portliness Amidst Poverty: Evidence from India," Arthaniti: Journal of Economic Theory and Practice, , vol. 18(2), pages 138-170, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Excess Weight; Labor Market; Gender; India;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • I15 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Economic Development
    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development

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