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Body mass and wages: New evidence from quantile estimation

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  • Slade, Peter

Abstract

I estimate the effect of body mass index (BMI) on wages across the unconditional distribution of wages. I find that for whites and Hispanics the effect of BMI is generally decreasing across the wage distribution; at the .9 quantile of the wage distribution, a two standard deviation increase in BMI reduces wages by 8% for white males, 13% for white females, 9% for Hispanic males, and 16% for Hispanic females. Conversely, at the .1 quantile, a two standard deviation increase in BMI affects wages by less than 2% for all these groups. For black males, the effect of BMI is positive, and either increasing or non-linear in wages. For black females, the estimates tend to be more uniform across the wage distribution. I discuss possible explanations for these inter-quantile differences including preference discrimination, productivity differences, and statistical discrimination. The results point to a new explanation for the observed correlation between socioeconomic status and body weight: individuals with higher income earning potential have differential incentives to maintain a lower BMI.

Suggested Citation

  • Slade, Peter, 2017. "Body mass and wages: New evidence from quantile estimation," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 27(PA), pages 223-240.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:ehbiol:v:27:y:2017:i:pa:p:223-240
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ehb.2017.07.001
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. McInerney, Melissa & Meiselbach, Mark K., 2020. "Distributional Effects of Recent Health Insurance Expansions on Weight-Related Outcomes," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 38(C).
    2. Pierre Levasseur, 2021. "Dynamics of the Bodyweight-Wage Relationship in Emerging Countries: Evidence from Mexico [Dynamiques de la relation entre corpulence et salaire dans les pays émergents : le cas du Mexique]," Post-Print hal-03335825, HAL.
    3. Chiao-Yu Huang & Duan-Rung Chen, 2019. "Association of weight change patterns in late adolescence with young adult wage differentials: A multilevel longitudinal study," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(7), pages 1-14, July.
    4. Nathalie Mathieu‐Bolh, 2022. "The elusive link between income and obesity," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(4), pages 935-968, September.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Obesity; Quantile regression; Statistical discrimination;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I1 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health
    • J3 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs

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