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Imitative Obesity and Relative Utility

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Author Info
David G. Blanchflower
Andrew J. Oswald
Bert Van Landeghem

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Abstract

If human beings care about their relative weight, a form of imitative obesity can emerge (in which people subconsciously keep up with the weight of the Joneses). Using Eurobarometer data on 29 countries, this paper provides cross-sectional evidence that overweight perceptions and dieting are influenced by a person's relative BMI, and longitudinal evidence from the German Socioeconomic Panel that well-being is influenced by relative BMI. Highly educated people see themselves as fatter -- at any given actual weight -- than those with low education. These results should be treated cautiously, and fixed-effects estimates are not always well-determined, but there are grounds to take seriously the possibility of socially contagious obesity.

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Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number 14337.

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Date of creation: Sep 2008
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Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:14337

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
D01 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Microeconomic Behavior: Underlying Principles
I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Production
I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare and Poverty - - - General Welfare

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  2. David G. Blanchflower, 2008. "International evidence on well-being," NBER Working Papers 14318, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  24. Blanchflower, David G. & Oswald, Andrew J., 2007. "Hypertension and Happiness across Nations," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 792, University of Warwick, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
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  33. Donald S. Kenkel & Dean R. Lillard & Alan D. Mathios, 2006. "The Roles of High School Completion and GED Receipt in Smoking and Obesity," NBER Working Papers 11990, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  34. Clark, Andrew E. & Oswald, Andrew J., 1998. "Comparison-concave utility and following behaviour in social and economic settings," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(1), pages 133-155, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  36. David G. Blanchflower & Andrew J. Oswald & Bert Van Landeghem, 2008. "Imitative Obesity and Relative Utility," NBER Working Papers 14337, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  37. Erzo F.P. Luttmer, 2004. "Neighbors as Negatives: Relative Earnings and Well-Being," NBER Working Papers 10667, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Andrew E. Clark, 2008. "Happiness, habits and high rank: Comparisons in economic and social life," PSE Working Papers 2008-61, PSE (Ecole normale supérieure). [Downloadable!]
  2. Andrew E. Clark, 2009. "Work, jobs and well-being across the Millennium," PSE Working Papers 2009-02, PSE (Ecole normale supérieure). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  3. David G. Blanchflower & Andrew J. Oswald & Bert Van Landeghem, 2008. "Imitative Obesity and Relative Utility," NBER Working Papers 14337, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  4. Chen, Susan E. & Florax, Raymond J.G.M. & Snyder, Samantha D., 2009. "Obesity in Urban Food Markets: Evidence from Geo-referenced Micro Data," 2009 Annual Meeting, July 26-28, 2009, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 49512, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association. [Downloadable!]
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