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Caught in the Bulimic Trap? Persistence and State Dependence of Bulimia Among Young Women

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  • John Ham

    (University of Maryland)

  • Daniela Iorio

    (Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona)

  • Michelle Sovinsky

    () (University of Zurich)

Abstract

Eating disorders are an important and growing health concern, and bulimia nervosa (BN) accounts for the largest fraction of eating disorders. Health consequences of BN are substantial and especially serious given the increasingly compulsive nature of the disorder. However, remarkably little is known about the mechanisms underlying the persistent nature of BN. We use data from a unique panel data set, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Growth and Health Study, which was conducted for ten years on young women aged 9-10 at the start of the survey (in 1987). Using instrumental variable techniques, we document that unobserved heterogeneity plays a role in the persistence of BN, but, strikingly, up to two-thirds of this persistence is due to true state dependence. Our findings have important implications for public policy since they suggest that the timing of policy is crucial: preventive educational programs should be coupled with more intense (rehabilitation) treatment at the early stages of bingeing and purging behaviors. Our results are robust to different model specifications and identifying assumptions.

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File URL: http://humcap.uchicago.edu/RePEc/hka/wpaper/Ham_Iorio_Sovinsky_2012_bulimic_trap.pdf
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File URL: http://www.econ.uzh.ch/faculty/mgoeree/research/bndynamic.pdf
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Bibliographic Info

Paper provided by Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Working Group in its series Working Papers with number 2012-018.

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Date of creation: Aug 2012
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Handle: RePEc:hka:wpaper:2012-018

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Keywords: Bulimia Nervosa; State Dependence; Dynamic Panel Data Estimation;

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Cited by:
  1. Michelle S. Goeree & John C. Ham & and Daniela Iorio, 2009. "Caught in the Bulimic Trap? Socioeconomic Status, State Dependence, and Unobserved Heterogeneity," Working Papers 386, Barcelona Graduate School of Economics.
  2. John Ham & Daniela Iorio & Michelle Sovinsky, 2012. "Race, Social Class, and Bulimia Nervosa," Working Papers 2012-016, Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Working Group.
  3. Goeree, Michelle S. & Ham, John C. & Iorio, Daniela, 2011. "Race, Social Class, and Bulimia Nervosa," IZA Discussion Papers 5823, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).
  4. Daniela Iorio & Michelle Sovinsky, 2012. "How bulimia nervosa relates to addictive behavior," ECON - Working Papers 095, Department of Economics - University of Zurich.

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