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Maternal Employment and Childhood Obesity in Spain

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  • Emma García
  • José M. Labeaga
  • Ana Carolina Ortega Masagué

Abstract

In this paper we explore to which extent the increase in childhood overweight and obesity are consequences of the participation of mothers in the labour market. We think that the increase in female labor force participation can explain, at least in part, the observed increase in the prevalence of overweight and obesity among children. Since it is very difficult to establish causal effects between both variables, we intend to measure it indirectly by using discrete choice models. Our results confirm that maternal employment could be at the root of this personal and social problem, which in absence of specific measures from several fields could become epidemic in the next decades. Otherwise, individuals' quality of life could be threatened, and expenditure devoted to control or alleviate this health problem could put pressure on the sustainability of the National Health System in the future.

Suggested Citation

  • Emma García & José M. Labeaga & Ana Carolina Ortega Masagué, 2006. "Maternal Employment and Childhood Obesity in Spain," Working Papers 2006-17, FEDEA.
    • Handle: RePEc:fda:fdaddt:2006-17
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    Cited by:

    1. Peng Nie & Alfonso Sousa-Poza, 2014. "Maternal employment and childhood obesity in China: evidence from the China Health and Nutrition Survey," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 46(20), pages 2418-2428, July.
    2. Radwan, Amr & Gil, Jose Maria, 2011. "Parametric and Non-Parametric Analysis of the Role of Economic Factors on Obesity Prevalence in Spain," 2011 International Congress, August 30-September 2, 2011, Zurich, Switzerland 114784, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    3. Meyer, Sophie-Charlotte, 2016. "Maternal employment and childhood overweight in Germany," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 23(C), pages 84-102.
    4. Dimitrios Minos, 2020. "“Eat, my child.” Obesity among children in developing countries: Evidence from South Africa," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(4), pages 1300-1311, November.
    5. Stephanie von Hinke Kessler Scholder, 2008. "Maternal employment and overweight children: does timing matter?," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 17(8), pages 889-906, August.
    6. Fouzia & Durdana Qaiser Gillani & Shahbaz Ahmad, 2021. "Impact of Female Employment and Education on Child Health Care: A Case Study of Pakistan," Journal of Economic Impact, Science Impact Publishers, vol. 3(2), pages 107-112.
    7. Gwozdz, Wencke & Sousa-Poza, Alfonso & Reisch, Lucia A. & Ahrens, Wolfgang & Eiben, Gabriele & M. Fernandéz-Alvira, Juan & Hadjigeorgiou, Charalampos & De Henauw, Stefaan & Kovács, Eva & Lauria, Fabio, 2013. "Maternal employment and childhood obesity – A European perspective," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(4), pages 728-742.
    8. Cawley, John & Liu, Feng, 2012. "Maternal employment and childhood obesity: A search for mechanisms in time use data," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 10(4), pages 352-364.
    9. Jens Bonke & Jane Greve, 2012. "Children’s health-related life-styles: how parental child care affects them," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 10(4), pages 557-572, December.
    10. Georgia S. Papoutsi & Andreas C. Drichoutis & Rodolfo M. Nayga Jr., 2013. "The Causes Of Childhood Obesity: A Survey," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(4), pages 743-767, September.
    11. Richard Dunn, 2015. "Labor supply and household meal production among working adults in the Health and Retirement Survey," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 13(2), pages 437-457, June.
    12. Radwan, Amr & Gil, José M., 2014. "On the Nexus between Economic and Obesity Crisis in Spain: Parametric and Nonparametric Analysis of the Role of Economic Factors on Obesity Prevalence," 88th Annual Conference, April 9-11, 2014, AgroParisTech, Paris, France 170341, Agricultural Economics Society.
    13. Crudu, Federico & Neri, Laura & Tiezzi, Silvia, 2021. "Family ties and child obesity in Italy," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 40(C).
    14. Greve, Jane, 2011. "New results on the effect of maternal work hours on children's overweight status: Does the quality of child care matter?," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(5), pages 579-590, October.
    15. Crudu, Federico & Neri, Laura & Tiezzi, Silvia, 2018. "Family Ties and Children Obesity in Italy," MPRA Paper 90360, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 15 Oct 2018.
    16. Sophie-Charlotte Meyer, 2015. "Maternal Employment and Childhood Overweight in Germany," Schumpeter Discussion Papers SDP15005, Universitätsbibliothek Wuppertal, University Library.

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