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Author: Slade, Peter
Resulting in 1 citation.
1. Slade, Peter
Body Mass and Wages: New Evidence from Quantile Estimation
Economics and Human Biology 27,A (November 2017): 223-240.
Also: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1570677X16301320
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Elsevier
Keyword(s): Body Mass Index (BMI); Racial Differences; Socioeconomic Status (SES); Wages

I estimate the effect of body mass index (BMI) on wages across the unconditional distribution of wages. I find that for whites and Hispanics the effect of BMI is generally decreasing across the wage distribution; at the.9 quantile of the wage distribution, a two standard deviation increase in BMI reduces wages by 8% for white males, 13% for white females, 9% for Hispanic males, and 16% for Hispanic females. Conversely, at the.1 quantile, a two standard deviation increase in BMI affects wages by less than 2% for all these groups. For black males, the effect of BMI is positive, and either increasing or non-linear in wages. For black females, the estimates tend to be more uniform across the wage distribution. I discuss possible explanations for these inter-quantile differences including preference discrimination, productivity differences, and statistical discrimination. The results point to a new explanation for the observed correlation between socioeconomic status and body weight: individuals with higher income earning potential have differential incentives to maintain a lower BMI.
Bibliography Citation
Slade, Peter. "Body Mass and Wages: New Evidence from Quantile Estimation." Economics and Human Biology 27,A (November 2017): 223-240.