Search Results

Author: Cawley, John
Resulting in 20 citations.
1. Burkhauser, Richard V.
Cawley, John
Obesity, Disability, and Movement onto the Disability Insurance Rolls
Research Brief RB2005-073, University of Michigan Retirement Research Center, January 2005.
Also: http://www.mrrc.isr.umich.edu/publications/briefs/pdf/rb073.pdf?CFID=28217&CFTOKEN=64836911
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Institute for Social Research (ISR), University of Michigan
Keyword(s): Body Mass Index (BMI); Disability; Insurance, Health; Obesity; Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID); Weight

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Between the early 1980s and 2002, both the prevalence of obesity and the number of beneficiaries of the Social Security Disability Insurance program doubled. We test whether these trends are related; specifically, we test whether obesity causes disability and movement onto the disability rolls.

We estimate models of instrumental variables using two nationally representative datasets: the Panel Survey of Income Dynamics and the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1979 Cohort. The results are mixed but we find evidence that weight increases the probability of health-related work limitations and the probability of receiving disability related income. Our results suggest that the failure to treat obesity as endogenous leads to dramatic underestimates of the link between obesity and disability outcomes.
Bibliography Citation
Burkhauser, Richard V. and John Cawley. "Obesity, Disability, and Movement onto the Disability Insurance Rolls." Research Brief RB2005-073, University of Michigan Retirement Research Center, January 2005.
2. Cawley, John
An Instrumental Variables Approach to Measuring the Effect of Body Weight on Employment Disability
Health Services Research 35,5, pt 2 (December 2000): 1159-1179.
Also: http://www.hsr.org/ArticleAbstracts/cawley355.cfm
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79
Publisher: U.S. National Library of Medicine
Keyword(s): Benefits, Disability; Children; Cognitive Ability; Disabled Workers; Education; Employment; Health/Health Status/SF-12 Scale; Height, Height-Weight Ratios; Income; Modeling, Probit; Variables, Instrumental; Weight; Women

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Objective: To measure the effect of body weight on employment disability. Data Sources: Female respondents to the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY), a nationally representative sample of American youth, surveyed from 1979 to 1998, merged with data from the child sample of the NLSY. Study Design: A series of probit models and probit models with instrumental variables is estimated with the goal of measuring the effect of body weight on employment disability. The two outcomes of interest are whether a woman reports that her health limits the amount of work that she can do for pay, and whether she reports that her health limits the kind of work that she can do for pay. The models control for factors that affect the probability of health limitations on employment, such as education, cognitive ability, income of other family members, and characteristics of children in the household. Self-reports of height and weight are corrected for reporting error. Principal Findings: All else being equal, heavier women are more likely to report employment disability. However, this overall correlation may be due to any or all of the following factors: weight causing disability, disability causing weight gain, or unobserved factors causing both. Instrumental variables estimates provide no evidence that body weight affects the probability of either type of employment disability. Conclusions: This study finds no evidence that body weight causes employment disability. Instead, the observed correlation between heaviness and disability may be due to disability causing weight gain or unobservable factors causing both disability and weight gain.
Bibliography Citation
Cawley, John. "An Instrumental Variables Approach to Measuring the Effect of Body Weight on Employment Disability." Health Services Research 35,5, pt 2 (December 2000): 1159-1179.
3. Cawley, John
Body Weight and the Dating and Sexual Behaviors of Young Adolescents
In: Social Awakening: Adolescent Behavior as Adulthood Approaches. R.T. Michael, ed. New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation, 2001: pp. 174-198
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: Russell Sage Foundation
Keyword(s): Adolescent Behavior; Dating; Gender Differences; Height; Height, Height-Weight Ratios; Sexual Activity; Sexual Behavior; Weight

Chapter: Examined how early sexual and dating behaviors are correlated with adolescents' body weight. The data used in this study were from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1997 Cohort. The sample consisted of 8,406 12-16 yr olds. Findings indicate that for girls, weight lowered the probability of ever having dated and the probability of dating at least monthly in the past year. It was also found that weight had an effect on sexual activity. Reporting error in weight and height is appended. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2000 APA, all rights reserved)
Bibliography Citation
Cawley, John. "Body Weight and the Dating and Sexual Behaviors of Young Adolescents" In: Social Awakening: Adolescent Behavior as Adulthood Approaches. R.T. Michael, ed. New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation, 2001: pp. 174-198
4. Cawley, John
Body Weight and Women's Labor Market Outcomes
NBER Working Paper No. 7841, National Bureau of Economic Research, August 2000.
Also: http://papers.nber.org/papers/W7841
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
Keyword(s): Earnings; Employment; Ethnic Groups/Ethnicity; Hispanics; Labor Market Outcomes; Occupations; Variables, Instrumental; Wages, Women; Weight; Women

Several studies have found that, all else equal, heavier women earn less. Previous research has been unable to determine whether high weight is the cause of low wages, the result of low wages, or whether unobserved factors cause both higher weight and lower wages. Applying the method of instrumental variables to data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, this paper attempts to generate consistent estimates of the effect of weight on labor market outcomes for women. Three labor market outcomes are studied: hourly wages, employment, and sector of occupation. This paper finds that weight lowers wages for white women; among this group, a difference in weight of two standard deviations (roughly sixty-five pounds) is associated with a difference in wages of 7%. In absolute value, this is equivalent to the wage effect of roughly one year of education, two years of job tenure, or three years of work experience. In contrast, this paper finds only weak evidence that weight lowers wages for hispanic women, and no evidence that weight lowers the wages of black women. This paper also concludes that there is no effect of weight on the probability of employment or sector of occupation.
Bibliography Citation
Cawley, John. "Body Weight and Women's Labor Market Outcomes." NBER Working Paper No. 7841, National Bureau of Economic Research, August 2000.
5. Cawley, John
Obesity and Labor Market Outcomes
Working Paper, Department of Policy Analysis and Management, Cornell University, Ithaca NY, 2002
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Department of Policy Analysis and Management, Cornell University
Keyword(s): Blue-Collar Jobs; Body Mass Index (BMI); Discrimination; Ethnic Differences; Gender; Height; Labor Market Outcomes; Modeling; Obesity; Racial Differences; Wages; Weight; White Collar Jobs

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Previous studies of the relationship between body weight and wages found mixed results. This paper uses a larger dataset and several regression strategies in an attempt to generate more consistent estimates of the effect of body weight on wages. Differences across gender, race and ethnicity are explored. This paper finds that weight lowers wages for white females; OLS estimates indicate that a difference in weight of two standard deviations (roughly sixty-five pounds) is associated with a difference in wages of 9%. In absolute value, this is equivalent to the wage effect of roughly on and a half years of education or three years of work experience. Negative correlations between weight and wages observed for gender-ethnic groups other than white females appear to be due to unobserved heterogeneity. For all gender-ethnic groups, there is little evidence that current wages affect current weight.
Bibliography Citation
Cawley, John. "Obesity and Labor Market Outcomes." Working Paper, Department of Policy Analysis and Management, Cornell University, Ithaca NY, 2002.
6. Cawley, John
The Impact of Obesity on Wages
Journal of Human Resources 39,2 (Spring 2004): 451-474.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3559022
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Earnings; Economics of Discrimination; Obesity; Wage Determination; Wage Levels; Wage Rates; Wages; Weight

Previous studies of the relationship between body weight and wages have found mixed results. This paper uses a larger data set and several regression strategies in an attempt to generate more consistent estimates of the effect of weight on wages. Differences across gender, race, and ethnicity are explored. This paper finds that weight lowers wages for white females; OLS estimates indicate that a difference in weight of two standard deviations (roughly 65 pounds) is associated with a difference in wages of 9 percent. In absolute value, this is equivalent to the wage effect of roughly one and a half years of education or three years of work experience. Negative correlations between weight and wages observed for other gender-ethnic groups appear to be due to unobserved heterogeneity.
Bibliography Citation
Cawley, John. "The Impact of Obesity on Wages." Journal of Human Resources 39,2 (Spring 2004): 451-474.
7. Cawley, John
What Explains Race and Gender Differences in the Relationship between Obesity and Wages?
Gender Issues 21,3 (Summer 2003): 30-49.
Also: http://search.epnet.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rlh&an=15535370
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Periodicals Service Company and Schmidt Periodicals GmbH
Keyword(s): Benefits; Discrimination, Racial/Ethnic; Ethnic Groups/Ethnicity; Gender Differences; Obesity; Wages

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Previous research has consistently found strong race and gender differences in the correlation between obesity and wages. This paper tests four possible explanations for these differences: (1) there is voluntary sorting of the obese into jobs with better health benefits at the expense of lower wages, that differs by gender and race/ethnicity; (2) weight affects self-esteem or depression in a manner that varies by gender and race/ethnicity; (3) weight affects physical health and disability in a manner that varies by gender and race/ethnicity; (4) there is weight-based discrimination in employment that differs by gender and race/ ethnicity. Using National Longitudinal Survey of Youth data for 1981-2000, this paper finds evidence consistent with the physical health and disability hypothesis, but little evidence to support the other three hypotheses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Bibliography Citation
Cawley, John. "What Explains Race and Gender Differences in the Relationship between Obesity and Wages?" Gender Issues 21,3 (Summer 2003): 30-49.
8. Cawley, John
Conneely, Karen
Heckman, James J.
Vytlacil, Edward
Cognitive Ability, Wages, and Meritocracy
In: Intelligence, Genes, and Success: Scientists Respond to THE BELL CURVE. B. Devlin, et al, eds., New York, NY: Springer Verlag, 1997.
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Springer
Keyword(s): Armed Forces Qualifications Test (AFQT); Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB); Cognitive Ability; Demography; Education; Gender Differences; Genetics; I.Q.; Intelligence; Racial Differences; Statistical Analysis; Test Scores/Test theory/IRT; Wages

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Previously issued as: NBER Working Paper No. W5645, Issued in July 1996. A scientific response to the best-selling The Bell Curve which set off a hailstorm of controversy upon its publication in 1994. Much of the public reaction to the book was polemic and failed to analyse the details of the science and validity of the statistical arguments underlying the book conclusion. Here, at last, social scientists and statisticians reply to The Bell Curve and its conclusions about IQ, genetics and social outcomes. Contents: Part I Overview: 1 Reexamining The Bell Curve, Stephen E. Fienberg and Daniel Resnick: 2 A Synopsis of The Bell Curve, Terry W. Belke: Part II The Genetics-Intelligence Link: 3 Of Genes and IQ, Michael Daniels, Bernie Devlin,and Kathryn Roeder: 4 The Malleability of Intelligence is Not Constrained by Heritabiligy, Douglas Waslsten: 5 Racial and Ethnic Inequalities in Health: Environmental, Psychosocial,and Physiological Pathways, Burton Singer and Carol Ryff: Part III Intelligence and the Measurement of IQ: 6 Theoretical and Technical Issues in Identifying a Factor of General Intelligence: 7 The Concept and Utility of Intelligence, Earl Hunt: 8 Is There a Cognitive Elite in America?, Nicholas Lemann: Part IV Intelligence and Success: Reanalyses of Data From the NLSY: 9 Cognitive Ability, Wages,and Meritocracy, John Cawley, Karen Conneely, James Heckman,and Edward Vytacil: 10 The Hidden Gender Restriction: The Need for Proper Controls When Testing for Racial Discrimination, Alexander Cavallo, Hazem El-Abbadi,and Randal Heeb: 11 Does Staying in School Make You Smarter? The Effect of Education on IQ in The Bell Curve, Christoper Winship and Sanders Korenman: 12 Cognitive Ability, Environmental.
Bibliography Citation
Cawley, John, Karen Conneely, James J. Heckman and Edward Vytlacil. "Cognitive Ability, Wages, and Meritocracy" In: Intelligence, Genes, and Success: Scientists Respond to THE BELL CURVE. B. Devlin, et al, eds., New York, NY: Springer Verlag, 1997.
9. Cawley, John
Conneely, Karen
Heckman, James J.
Vytlacil, Edward
Measuring the Effects of Cognitive Ability
NBER Working Paper No. 5645, National Bureau of Economic Research, July 1996.
Also: http://nber.nber.org/papers/W5645
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
Keyword(s): Armed Forces Qualifications Test (AFQT); Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB); Cognitive Ability; Demography; Gender Differences; Intelligence; Occupational Choice; Racial Differences; Test Scores/Test theory/IRT; Wage Differentials; Wage Rates

This paper presents new evidence from the NLSY on the importance of meritocracy in American society. In it, we find that general intelligence, or "g"--a measure of cognitive ability--is dominant in explaining test score variance. The weights assigned to tests by "g" are similar for all major demographic groups. These results support Spearman's theory of "g." We also find that "g" and other measures of ability are not rewarded equally across race and gender, evidence against the view that the labor market is organized on meritocratic principles. Additional factors beyond "g" are required to explain wages and occupational choice. However, both blue collar and white collar wages are poorly predicted by "g" or even multiple measures of ability. Observed cognitive ability is only a minor predictor of social performance. White collar wages are more "g" loaded than blue collar wages. Many noncognitive factors determine blue collar wages. Full-text available on-line: http://nber.nber.org/papers/W5645. See also, "Cognitive Ability, Wages, and Meritocracy" published in: Intelligence, Genes, and Success. Devlin, Bernie etal. ed.
Bibliography Citation
Cawley, John, Karen Conneely, James J. Heckman and Edward Vytlacil. "Measuring the Effects of Cognitive Ability." NBER Working Paper No. 5645, National Bureau of Economic Research, July 1996.
10. Cawley, John
Heckman, James J.
Vytlacil, Edward
Cognitive Ability and the Rising Return to Education
NBER Working Paper No. 6388, National Bureau of Economic Research, January 1998.
Also: http://papers.nber.org/papers/W6388
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
Keyword(s): Armed Forces Qualifications Test (AFQT); Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB); Cognitive Ability; Gender Differences; I.Q.; Intelligence; Racial Differences; Test Scores/Test theory/IRT; Wage Differentials; Wage Rates

This paper examines the contribution of the rise in the return to ability to the rise in the economic return to education. All of the evidence on this question comes from panel data sets in which a small collection of adjacent birth cohorts is followed over time. The structure of the data creates an identification problem that makes it impossible to identify main age and time effects and to isolate all possible age-time interactions. In addition, many education-ability cells are empty due to the stratification of ability with educational attainment. These empty cells or identification problems are literature and produce a variety of different estimates. We test and reject widely used linearity assumptions invoked to identify the contribution of the return to ability on the return to schooling. Using nonparametric methods find little evidence that the rise in the return to education is centered among the most able.
Bibliography Citation
Cawley, John, James J. Heckman and Edward Vytlacil. "Cognitive Ability and the Rising Return to Education." NBER Working Paper No. 6388, National Bureau of Economic Research, January 1998.
11. Cawley, John
Heckman, James J.
Vytlacil, Edward
Meritocracy in America: Wages Within and Across Occupations
NBER Working Paper No. 6446, National Bureau of Economic Research, March 1998.
Also: http://www.nber.org/papers/w6446
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
Keyword(s): Cognitive Ability; Gender Differences; Modeling; Occupational Choice; Racial Differences; Simultaneity; Wage Determination; Wages

In The Bell Curve, Hermstein and Murray argue that the U.S. economy is a meritocracy in which differences in wages (including differences across race and gender) are explained by differences in cognitive ability. In this paper we test their claim for wages conditional on occupation using a simultaneous model of occupation choice and wage determination. Our results contradict Herrnstein and Murray's claim that the U.S. labor market operates only on meritocratic principles. Full-text available on-line: http://nberws.nber.org/papers/W6446
Bibliography Citation
Cawley, John, James J. Heckman and Edward Vytlacil. "Meritocracy in America: Wages Within and Across Occupations." NBER Working Paper No. 6446, National Bureau of Economic Research, March 1998.
12. Cawley, John
Heckman, James J.
Vytlacil, Edward
Notes: On Policies to Reward the Value Added by Educators
The Review of Economics and Statistics 81,4 (November 1999): 720-727.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2646720
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Keyword(s): Socioeconomic Factors; Teachers/Faculty; Test Scores/Test theory/IRT

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

One current educational reform seeks to reward the "value added" by teachers and schools based on the average change in pupil test scores over time. In this paper, we outline the conditions under which the average change in scores is sufficient to rank schools in terms of value added. A key condition is that socioeconomic outcomes be a linear function of test scores. Absent this condition, one can still derive the optimal value-added policy if one knows the relationship between test scores and socioeconomic outcomes, and the distribution of test scores both before and after the intervention. Using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, we find a nonlinear relationship between test scores and one important outcome: log wages. We find no consistent pattern in the curvature of log wage returns to test scores (whether percentiles, scaled, or raw scores). This implies that, used alone, the average gain in test scores is an inadequate measure of school performance and current value-added methodology may misdirect school resources. [ABI/Inform]
Bibliography Citation
Cawley, John, James J. Heckman and Edward Vytlacil. "Notes: On Policies to Reward the Value Added by Educators." The Review of Economics and Statistics 81,4 (November 1999): 720-727.
13. Cawley, John
Heckman, James J.
Vytlacil, Edward
On Policies to Reward the Value Added by Educators
Review of Economics and Statistics 81,4 (November 1999): 720-727.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2646720
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Keyword(s): Education; Socioeconomic Factors; Test Scores/Test theory/IRT; Wages

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

One current educational reform seeks to reward the value added by teachers and schools based on the average change in pupil test scores over time. The conditions under which the average change in scores is sufficient to rank schools in terms of value added are outlined. A key condition is that socioeconomic outcomes be a linear function of test scores. Absent this condition, one can still derive the optimal value-added policy if one knows the relationship between test scores and socioeconomic outcomes, and the distribution of test scores both before and after the intervention. Using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, a nonlinear relationship is found between test scores and one important outcome: log wages.
Bibliography Citation
Cawley, John, James J. Heckman and Edward Vytlacil. "On Policies to Reward the Value Added by Educators." Review of Economics and Statistics 81,4 (November 1999): 720-727.
14. Cawley, John
Heckman, James J.
Vytlacil, Edward
Understanding the Role of Cognitive Ability in Accounting for the Recent Rise in the Economic Return to Education
In: Meritocracy and Economic Inequality. K. Arrow, S. Bowles, and S. Durlauf, eds. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2000
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Keyword(s): Armed Forces Qualifications Test (AFQT); Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB); Cognitive Ability; Educational Returns; Gender Differences; I.Q.; Intelligence; Occupational Choice; Racial Differences; Test Scores/Test theory/IRT; Wage Differentials; Wage Rates; Wages

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Previously issued as "Cognitive Ability and the Rising Return to Education", Working Paper No. 6388, National Bureau of Economic Research, January 1998. This chapter examines the contribution of the rise in the return to ability to the rise in the economic return to education. All of the evidence on this question comes from panel data sets in which a small collection of adjacent birth cohorts is followed over time. The structure of the data creates an identification problem that makes it impossible to identify main age and time effects and to isolate all possible age-time interactions. In addition, many education-ability cells are empty due to the stratification of ability with educational attainment. These empty cells or identification problems are literature and produce a variety of different estimates. We test and reject widely used linearity assumptions invoked to identify the contribution of the return to ability on the return to schooling. Using nonparametric methods find little evidence that the rise in the return to education is centered among the most able.
Bibliography Citation
Cawley, John, James J. Heckman and Edward Vytlacil. "Understanding the Role of Cognitive Ability in Accounting for the Recent Rise in the Economic Return to Education" In: Meritocracy and Economic Inequality. K. Arrow, S. Bowles, and S. Durlauf, eds. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2000
15. Cawley, John
Joyner, Kara
Sobal, Jeffery
Size Matters: The Influence of Adolescents' Weight and Height on Dating and Sex
Rationality and Society 18,1 (February 2006): 67-94.
Also: http://rss.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/18/1/67
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: Sage Publications
Keyword(s): Adolescent Behavior; Dating; Height, Height-Weight Ratios; Obesity; Sexual Activity; Sexual Behavior

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

We examine the relationship between body size (specifically, weight and height) and dating and sexual activity using two large, nationally representative, longitudinal data sets. Our conceptual framework assumes that the utility an adolescent derives from dating and sexual activity is a function of the weight and height of his or her partner, and it predicts that heavier and shorter adolescents will be less likely to date and have sex. Empirical tests confirm that dating is less likely among heavier girls and boys and among shorter girls and boys. In adolescent dating, size clearly matters. For sexual activity, the results are less consistent.
Bibliography Citation
Cawley, John, Kara Joyner and Jeffery Sobal. "Size Matters: The Influence of Adolescents' Weight and Height on Dating and Sex." Rationality and Society 18,1 (February 2006): 67-94.
16. Cawley, John
Markowitz, Sara
Tauras, John
Body Weight, Cigarette Prices, Youth Access Laws and Adolescent Smoking Initiation
Presented: Philadelphia, PA, Allied Social Science Association Meeting, January 2005.
Also: http://www.aeaweb.org/annual_mtg_papers/2005/0107_0800_0101.pdf
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79 Young Adult
Publisher: Society of Government Economists (SGE)
Keyword(s): Body Mass Index (BMI); Cigarette Use (see Smoking); Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Reading); Smoking (see Cigarette Use); State-Level Data/Policy; Variables, Instrumental; Weight

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

This paper examines the role of body weight in smoking initiation by aolescents. We estimate discrete-time hazard models of the decision to initiate smoking using data from the Children of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1979 Cohort. We control for cigarette prices, tobacco control policies and socioeconomic factors. To avoid problems stemming from the endogeneity of body weight, we also estimate models using the method of instrumental variables.

We find clear gender differences. Lighter girls are less likely to initiate smoking, while current weight is uncorrelated with initiation among boys. Among girls, smoking initiation is insensitive to cigarette prices, but among boys smoking initiation is negatively correlated with cigarette prices. These gender-specific differences may help explain the mixed evidence of the impact of price on smoking initiation found in previous literature.
Bibliography Citation
Cawley, John, Sara Markowitz and John Tauras. "Body Weight, Cigarette Prices, Youth Access Laws and Adolescent Smoking Initiation." Presented: Philadelphia, PA, Allied Social Science Association Meeting, January 2005.
17. Cawley, John
Markowitz, Sara
Tauras, John
Lighting Up and Slimming Down: The Effects of Body Weight and Cigarette Prices on Adolescent Smoking Initiation
NBER Working Paper No. 9561, National Bureau of Economic Research, March 2003.
Also: http://papers.nber.org/papers/w9561
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
Keyword(s): Adolescent Behavior; Cigarette Use (see Smoking); Gender Differences; Weight

This paper examines the influence of body weight, body image, and cigarette prices in determining adolescent sgmoking initiation. Adolescents who desire to lose weight may initiate smoking as a method of appetite control. Such behavior may undermine the goals of tobacco control policies that seek to prevent smoking initiation. Using a nationally representative panel of adolescents, we show that smoking initiation is more likely among females who are overweight, who report trying to lose weight, or who describe themselves as overweight. In contrast, neither objective nor subjective measures of weight predict smoking initiation by males. Higher cigarette prices decrease the probability of smoking initiation among males but have no impact on female smoking initiation. These gender-specific differences may help explain the mixed and inconclusive evidence of the impact of price on smoking initiation found in previous literature.
Bibliography Citation
Cawley, John, Sara Markowitz and John Tauras. "Lighting Up and Slimming Down: The Effects of Body Weight and Cigarette Prices on Adolescent Smoking Initiation." NBER Working Paper No. 9561, National Bureau of Economic Research, March 2003.
18. Cawley, John
Markowitz, Sara
Tauras, John
Obesity, Cigarette Prices, Youth Access Laws and Adolescent Smoking Initiation
Eastern Economic Journal 32,1 (Winter 2006): 149-170.
Also: http://econpapers.repec.org/article/eejeeconj/v_3a32_3ay_3a2006_3ai_3a1_3ap_3a149-170.htm
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79 Young Adult
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Journals
Keyword(s): Adolescent Behavior; Body Mass Index (BMI); Cigarette Use (see Smoking); Gender Differences; Modeling, Hazard/Event History/Survival/Duration; Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Reading); Smoking (see Cigarette Use); Socioeconomic Factors; State-Level Data/Policy; Variables, Instrumental; Weight

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

This paper examines the role of body weight in smoking initiation by adolescents. We estimate discrete-time hazard models of the decision to initiate smoking using data from the Children of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1979 Cohort. We control for cigarette prices, tobacco control policies and socioeconomic factors. To avoid problems stemming from the endogeneity of body weight, we also estimate models using the method of instrumental variables. We find clear gender differences. Lighter girls are less likely to initiate smoking, while current weight is uncorrelated with initiation among boys. Among girls, smoking initiation is insensitive to cigarette prices, but among boys smoking initiation is negatively correlated with cigarette prices. These gender-specific differences may help explain the mixed evidence of the impact of price on smoking initiation found in previous literature.
Bibliography Citation
Cawley, John, Sara Markowitz and John Tauras. "Obesity, Cigarette Prices, Youth Access Laws and Adolescent Smoking Initiation." Eastern Economic Journal 32,1 (Winter 2006): 149-170.
19. Cawley, John
Simon, Kosali Ilayperuma
The Impact of Macroeconomic Conditions on the Health Insurance Coverage of Americans
In: NBER Book Series, Frontiers in Health Policy Research 6,1. D. Cutler and A. Garber, eds., NBER Books, 2003:87-115.
Also: http://www.nber.org/chapters/c9865.pdf?new_window=1
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: MIT Press
Keyword(s): Benefits, Insurance; Health Care; Health/Health Status/SF-12 Scale; Heterogeneity; Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP); Unemployment

In March 2001, the longest economic expansion in U.S. history ended, and an economic recession began. This paper seeks to provide a better understanding of the historical relationship between macroeconomic variables and health insurance coverage. We use data from two nationally representative samples: the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) and the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY). The longitudinal nature of our data allows us to remove individual-specific, time-invariant heterogeneity and to focus on changes in health insurance status in response to changes in macroeconomic variables. The results confirm our prediction that the probability of any health insurance coverage is negatively associated with unemployment rate. We find that a one percentage point increase in the state unemployment rate is associated with a decrease in the probability of health insurance coverage, through any source, of 0.62 percent for men, 0.54 percent for women, and 1.1 percent for children. However, our prediction that an indicator variable for national recession would be negatively correlated with the probability of health insurance coverage is not supported by the data. We find that changes in employment status explain roughly one-quarter of the correlation between health insurance coverage and unemployment rates. Our estimates imply that 440,000 men, 436,000 women, and 494,000 children have lost health insurance coverage during the current recession. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Bibliography Citation
Cawley, John and Kosali Ilayperuma Simon. "The Impact of Macroeconomic Conditions on the Health Insurance Coverage of Americans" In: NBER Book Series, Frontiers in Health Policy Research 6,1. D. Cutler and A. Garber, eds., NBER Books, 2003:87-115.
20. Joyner, Kara
Cawley, John
Sobal, Jeffery
Relationships Between Obesity, Romantic Involvement, and Sexual Behavior in Adolescents
Presented: Boston, MA, Population Association of America Meetings, April 2004.
Also: http://paa2004.princeton.edu/abstractViewer.asp?submissionId=40734
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: Population Association of America
Keyword(s): Contraception; Dating; Fertility; Obesity; Pregnancy, Adolescent; Sexual Behavior

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

The role of body weight in affecting a host of fertility-related behaviors, including dating, intercourse, contraceptive use, and pregnancy, has been little studied by demographers. This is surprising given the importance to adolescents of appearance in general and weight in particular. Because of the stigmatization of obesity, we hypothesized that heavier boys and girls are less likely to date and have sex than healthy-weight adolescents. We examined these relationships using two large, nationally representative data sets: the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health (Add Health) and the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1997 Cohort (NLSY97). Overall, our results confirm our prediction that heavier adolescents, especially girls, are less likely to become romantically involved, to date, and to have sex.
Bibliography Citation
Joyner, Kara, John Cawley and Jeffery Sobal. "Relationships Between Obesity, Romantic Involvement, and Sexual Behavior in Adolescents." Presented: Boston, MA, Population Association of America Meetings, April 2004.