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Low Income and Poor Health Choices: The Example of Smoking

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  • James Binkley

Abstract

Low-income individuals often make relatively unhealthy consumption choices. In the case of food, this is often attributed to limited budgets. We investigate another possibility, motivated by the fact that smoking is more prevalent among those with low incomes, despite the cost. We develop a model in which income serves both as a budget constraint and as a source of future utility. We test the model by estimating logistic models of beginning and quitting smoking. We find support for the idea that low-income consumers make less healthy choices because they face lower costs in terms of forgone future utility. Copyright 2010, Oxford University Press.

Suggested Citation

  • James Binkley, 2010. "Low Income and Poor Health Choices: The Example of Smoking," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 92(4), pages 972-984.
  • Handle: RePEc:oup:ajagec:v:92:y:2010:i:4:p:972-984
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/ajae/aaq036
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    Cited by:

    1. Zeng, Di & You, Wen & Mills, Bradford & Alwang, Jeffrey & Royster, Michael & Anson-Dwamena, Rexford, 2015. "A closer look at the rural-urban health disparities: Insights from four major diseases in the Commonwealth of Virginia," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 140(C), pages 62-68.
    2. Zasimova, Liudmila & Kossova, Elena & Ryazanova, Marina, 2014. "Understanding individual attitudes towards ban on smoking in public places," Applied Econometrics, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), vol. 34(2), pages 95-119.
    3. Norbert Wilson, 2016. "When the Cupboards Are Bare: Nudging Food Pantry Clients to Healthier Foods," Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, University of Chicago Press, vol. 1(1), pages 125-133.
    4. Hu, Xiaowen & Stowe, C. Jill, 2013. "The Effect of Income on Health Choices: Alcohol Use," 2013 Annual Meeting, February 2-5, 2013, Orlando, Florida 143060, Southern Agricultural Economics Association.
    5. Alagsam, Fuad & Schieffer, Jack, 2016. "The Mindlessness and Mindfulness of Secondary Eating," 2016 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Boston, Massachusetts 235644, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    6. Carlo Ciccarelli & Pierpaolo Pierani & Silvia Tiezzi, 2018. "What Can We Learn about Smoking from 150 Years of Italian Data?," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 40(4), pages 695-717, December.
    7. Young, Jeffrey S. & Binkley, James K., 2020. "Low Income and Access to Healthy Food: The Case of Milk," 2020 Annual Meeting, July 26-28, Kansas City, Missouri 304539, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    8. Binkley, James K. & Young, Jeffrey S., 2022. "Deficient Dietary Behavior in Low-Income Americans: Assessing the Role of Diet Costs," 2022 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Anaheim, California 322055, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    9. Chen, Susan E. & Liu, Jing & Binkley, James K., 2012. "An Exploration of the Relationship Between Income and Eating Behavior," Agricultural and Resource Economics Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 41(1), pages 82-91, April.
    10. Li, H. & Wang, X. & Ren, Y., 2018. "Family Income and Health: Evidence from Food Consumption in China," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 277074, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    11. Ren, Yanjun & Li, Hui & Wang, Xiaobing, 2019. "Family income and nutrition-related health: Evidence from food consumption in China," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 232(C), pages 58-76.
    12. Ren, Yanjun & Castro Campos, Bente & Loy, Jens-Peter & Brosig, Stephan, 2019. "Low-income and overweight in China: Evidence from a life-course utility model," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 18(8), pages 1753-1767.
    13. Ren, Yanjun & Castro Campos, Bente & Peng, Yanling & Glauben, Thomas, 2021. "Nutrition transition with accelerating urbanization? Empirical evidence from rural China," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 13(3).

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