Happy House: Spousal Weight and Individual Well-Being
Andrew E. Clark
(1, 2, 3)
,
Fabrice Etilé
(1, 2, 4)
Andrew E. Clark
- Fonction : Auteur
- PersonId : 742286
- IdHAL : andrew-clark
- ORCID : 0000-0001-7004-7654
- IdRef : 035800070
Fabrice Etilé
- Fonction : Auteur
- PersonId : 173760
- IdHAL : fabrice-etile
- ORCID : 0000-0003-3388-5848
- IdRef : 119434245
Résumé
We use life satisfaction and Body Mass Index (BMI) information from three waves of the GSOEP to test for social interactions in BMI between spouses. Social interactions require that the cross-partial effect of partner's weight and own weight in the utility function be positive. Using life satisfaction as a utility proxy, semi-parametric regressions show that the correlation between satisfaction and own BMI is initially positive, but turns negative after some threshold. Critically, this latter threshold increases with partner's BMI when the individual is overweight. The negative well-being impact of own BMI is thus lower when the individual's partner is heavier, which is consistent with social contagion effects in weight. However, this relationship may also reflect selection on the marriage market or omitted variables, and it is difficult to think of convincing instruments that would allow causality to be clearly established.
Domaines
Economies et financesFormat du dépôt | Notice |
---|---|
Type de dépôt | Article dans une revue |
Titre |
en
Happy House: Spousal Weight and Individual Well-Being
|
Résumé |
en
We use life satisfaction and Body Mass Index (BMI) information from three waves of the GSOEP to test for social interactions in BMI between spouses. Social interactions require that the cross-partial effect of partner's weight and own weight in the utility function be positive. Using life satisfaction as a utility proxy, semi-parametric regressions show that the correlation between satisfaction and own BMI is initially positive, but turns negative after some threshold. Critically, this latter threshold increases with partner's BMI when the individual is overweight. The negative well-being impact of own BMI is thus lower when the individual's partner is heavier, which is consistent with social contagion effects in weight. However, this relationship may also reflect selection on the marriage market or omitted variables, and it is difficult to think of convincing instruments that would allow causality to be clearly established.
|
Auteur(s) |
Andrew E. Clark
1, 2, 3
, Fabrice Etilé
1, 2, 4
1
PSE -
Paris School of Economics
( 301309 )
- 48 boulevard Jourdan 75014 Paris
- France
2
PSE -
Paris-Jourdan Sciences Economiques
( 139754 )
- 48 boulevard Jourdan 75014 Paris
- France
3
IZA -
Institute for the Study of Labor
( 142142 )
- Allemagne
4
ALISS -
Alimentation et sciences sociales
( 90563 )
- 65 boulevard de Brandebourg 94205 Ivry sur Seine
- France
|
Page/Identifiant |
1124-1136
|
Numéro |
5
|
Comité de lecture |
Oui
|
Vulgarisation |
Non
|
Langue du document |
Anglais
|
Nom de la revue |
|
Audience |
Non spécifiée
|
Date de publication |
2011
|
Volume |
30
|
Localisation géographique du document |
UR 1303 Alimentation et Sciences Sociales, Centre de recherche de Paris, 94205 IVRY-SUR-SEINE CEDEX, FRA
|
Commentaire |
JEL codes : C14, I12, I13
|
Public visé |
Scientifique
|
Domaine(s) |
|
Mots-clés (JEL) |
|
Voir aussi |
|
Indexation contrôlée |
|
Mots-clés |
en
Obesity, Subjective well-being, BMI, Social interactions
|
DOI | 10.1016/j.jhealeco.2011.07.010 |
ProdINRA | 40776 |
UT key WOS | 000295707200024 |
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