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A Silver Lining? The Connection Between Gasoline Prices and Obesity

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I find evidence of a negative association between gasoline prices and body weight using a fixed effects model with several robustness checks. I also show that increases in gas prices are associated with additional walking and a reduction in the frequency with which people eat at restaurants, explaining their effect on weight. My estimates imply that 8% of the rise in obesity between 1979 and 2004 can be attributed to the concurrent drop in real gas prices, and that a permanent $1 increase in gasoline prices would reduce overweight and obesity in the U.S. by 7% and 10%.

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  • Courtemanche, Charles, 2008. "A Silver Lining? The Connection Between Gasoline Prices and Obesity," UNCG Economics Working Papers 09-1, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Department of Economics, revised 01 Jan 2009.
    • Handle: RePEc:ris:uncgec:2009_001
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    Cited by:

    1. Charles J. Courtemanche & Joshua C. Pinkston & Christopher J. Ruhm & George L. Wehby, 2016. "Can Changing Economic Factors Explain the Rise in Obesity?," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 82(4), pages 1266-1310, April.
    2. Brady P. Horn & Johanna Catherine Maclean & Michael R. Strain, 2017. "Do Minimum Wage Increases Influence Worker Health?," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 55(4), pages 1986-2007, October.
    3. Nakamura, Ryota & Albanese, Andrea & Coombes, Emma & Suhrcke, Marc, 2021. "Do Economic Incentives Promote Physical Activity? Evidence from the London Congestion Charge," IZA Discussion Papers 14957, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Jaesang Sung & Qihua Qiu, 2020. "The Impact of Housing Prices on Health in the United States Before, During, and After the Great Recession," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 86(3), pages 910-940, January.
    5. Wehby, George L. & Courtemanche, Charles J., 2012. "The heterogeneity of the cigarette price effect on body mass index," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(5), pages 719-729.
    6. Jan Marcus & Thomas Siedler & Nicolas R. Ziebarth, 2022. "The Long-Run Effects of Sports Club Vouchers for Primary School Children," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 14(3), pages 128-165, August.
    7. Sung, Jaesang, 2017. "The Impact of Housing Prices on Health in U.S. Before, During and After the Great Recession," MPRA Paper 78831, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Jeon, Hocheol, 2014. "Does obesity matter for the Environment? Evidence from Vehicle Choices and Driving," 2014 Annual Meeting, July 27-29, 2014, Minneapolis, Minnesota 170550, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    9. Aline Bütikofer & Julie Riise & Meghan M. Skira, 2021. "The Impact of Paid Maternity Leave on Maternal Health," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 13(1), pages 67-105, February.
    10. Dragone, D. & Ziebarth, N.R., 2015. "Non-Separable Time Preferences and Novelty Consumption: Theory and Evidence from the East German Transition to Capitalism," Health, Econometrics and Data Group (HEDG) Working Papers 15/28, HEDG, c/o Department of Economics, University of York.
    11. Courtemanche, Charles & Tchernis, Rusty & Ukert, Benjamin, 2018. "The effect of smoking on obesity: Evidence from a randomized trial," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 31-44.
    12. Awaworyi Churchill, Sefa & Koomson, Isaac & Munyanyi, Musharavati Ephraim, 2023. "Transport poverty and obesity: The mediating roles of social capital and physical activity," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 155-166.
    13. Prakash, Kushneel & Awaworyi Churchill, Sefa & Smyth, Russell, 2020. "Petrol prices and subjective wellbeing," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    14. Anthony M Yezer & Stephen J Popick, 2017. "Climate Preferences, Obesity, and Unobserved Heterogeneity in Cities," The Review of Regional Studies, Southern Regional Science Association, vol. 47(3), pages 309-329, Fall.
    15. Dragone, Davide & Ziebarth, Nicolas R., 2015. "Economic Development, Novelty Consumption, and Body Weight: Evidence from the East German Transition to Capitalism," IZA Discussion Papers 8967, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    16. Li, Shanjun & Liu, Yanyan & Zhang, Junjie, 2011. "Lose some, save some: Obesity, automobile demand, and gasoline consumption," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 61(1), pages 52-66, January.
    17. Qihua Qiu & Jaesang Sung, 2021. "The effects of graduated driver licensing on teenage body weight," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(11), pages 2829-2846, November.
    18. Charles Courtemanche & Garth Heutel & Patrick McAlvanah, 2015. "Impatience, Incentives and Obesity," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 125(582), pages 1-31, February.
    19. Dragone, Davide & Ziebarth, Nicolas R., 2017. "Non-separable time preferences, novelty consumption and body weight: Theory and evidence from the East German transition to capitalism," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 41-65.
    20. Prakash, Kushneel & Munyanyi, Musharavati Ephraim, 2021. "Energy poverty and obesity," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    21. Boyd-Swan, Casey & Herbst, Chris M., 2012. "Pain at the pump: Gasoline prices and subjective well-being," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(2), pages 160-175.
    22. Patricia I. Ritter, 2018. "Soda Consumption in the Tropics: The Trade-Off between Obesity and Diarrhea in Developing Countries," Working papers 2018-16, University of Connecticut, Department of Economics, revised Aug 2020.
    23. Otto Lenhart, 2020. "Pathways Between Minimum Wages and Health: The Roles of Health Insurance, Health Care Access and Health Care Utilization," Eastern Economic Journal, Palgrave Macmillan;Eastern Economic Association, vol. 46(3), pages 438-459, June.
    24. Kushneel Prakash & Sefa Awaworyi Churchill & Russell Smyth, 2022. "Petrol prices and obesity," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(7), pages 1381-1401, July.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Gas price; obesity; body weight; gasoline price; gasoline; transportation; restaurants;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I10 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - General

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