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Disentangling the Contemporaneous and Dynamic Effects of Human and Health Capital on Wages over the Life Cycle

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  • Donna B. Gilleskie
  • Euna Han
  • Edward C. Norton

Abstract

In this study we quantify the life-cycle effects of human and health capital on the wage distribution of females, with a focus on health measured by body mass. We use NLSY79 data on women followed annually up to twenty years during the time of their lives when average annual weight gain is greatest. We allow body mass to explain variation in wages contemporaneously conditional on observed measures of human capital and productivity histories (namely, education, employment experience, marital status, and family size) and dynamically over the life cycle through its impact on the endogenous histories of behaviors that determine wages. We find significant differences in the contemporaneous effect and the dynamic effect of body mass on wages, both across females of different races and over the distribution of wages.

Suggested Citation

  • Donna B. Gilleskie & Euna Han & Edward C. Norton, 2016. "Disentangling the Contemporaneous and Dynamic Effects of Human and Health Capital on Wages over the Life Cycle," NBER Working Papers 22430, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:22430
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Titus Galama & Hans van Kippersluis, 2022. "Human Capital Formation: The Importance of Endogenous Longevity," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 22-026/V, Tinbergen Institute.
    3. Roozbei Hosseini & Karen Kopecky & Kai Zhao, 2022. "The Evolution of Health over the Life Cycle," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 45, pages 237-263, July.
    4. Marcela PARADA‐CONTZEN, 2023. "Gender, family status and health characteristics: Understanding retirement inequalities in the Chilean pension model," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 162(2), pages 271-303, June.
    5. Marcela Parada-Contzen, 2020. "Crowding-out in savings decisions, portfolio default adoption and home ownership: evidence from the Chilean retirement system," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 18(2), pages 543-569, June.
    6. repec:fip:a00001:89435 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Darden, Michael E., 2021. "Cities and Smoking," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 122(C).
    8. Nathalie Mathieu‐Bolh, 2022. "The elusive link between income and obesity," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(4), pages 935-968, September.
    9. Roozbei Hosseini & Karen Kopecky & Kai Zhao, 2022. "The Evolution of Health over the Life Cycle," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 45, pages 237-263, July.
    10. Darden, Michael E. & Hotchkiss, Julie L. & Melinda Pitts, M., 2021. "The dynamics of the smoking wage penalty," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    11. Jack Britton & Eric French, 2020. "Health and Employment amongst Older Workers," Fiscal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 41(1), pages 221-250, March.
    12. Donna B. Gilleskie, 2021. "In sickness and in health, until death do us part: A case for theory," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 87(3), pages 753-768, January.
    13. Souvik Banerjee & Anirban Basu, 2021. "Estimating Endogenous Treatment Effects Using Latent Factor Models with and without Instrumental Variables," Econometrics, MDPI, vol. 9(1), pages 1-25, March.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth

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