While Americans are less healthy than Europeans along some dimensions (like obesity), Americans are significantly less likely to smoke than their European counterparts. This difference emerged in the 1970s and it is biggest among the most educated. The puzzle becomes larger once we account for cigarette prices and anti-smoking regulations, which are both higher in Europe. There is a nonmonotonic relationship between smoking and income; among richer countries and people, higher incomes are associated with less smoking. This can account for about one-fifth of the U.S./Europe difference. Almost one-half of the smoking difference appears to be the result of differences in beliefs about the health effects of smoking; Europeans are generally less likely to think that cigarette smoking is harmful.
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Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number
12124.
Length: Date of creation: Mar 2006 Date of revision: Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:12124
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Find related papers by JEL classification: I1 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health J1 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics P5 - Economic Systems - - Comparative Economic Systems
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Edward L. Glaeser & Bruce I. Sacerdote & Jose A. Scheinkman, 2002.
"The Social Multiplier,"
NBER Working Papers
9153, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
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