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Author: Zietz, Joachim
Resulting in 2 citations.
1. Zakir, Hussain
Zietz, Joachim
Does Walking or Riding a Bike to School Reduce Obesity? Evidence from the NLSY 1979 using Propensity Score Matching
Presented: St. Louis MO, Midwest Economics Association Annual Meeting, March 18-20, 2011
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Midwest Economics Association
Keyword(s): Body Mass Index (BMI); Commuting/Type, Time, Method; Exercise; Obesity; Physical Activity (see also Exercise); Propensity Scores; Transportation

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

This presentation assesses whether walking or riding a bike to school reduces obesity. High school and college students who walk or ride a bike to school are compared to those students who could have walked or ridden a bike to school but did not. The analysis employs Propensity Score Matching (PSM). This methodology enables comparison between two otherwise very similar groups which vary only on the basis of one characteristic, in this case, walking or biking to school. The likelihood of an individual’s decision to walk or bike to school, the propensity score, is determined on the basis of several observable characteristics which are available in the data. Using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) 1979 cohort, a nationally representative survey, I find statistically significant evidence that students who walk or ride a bike to school have lower levels of BMI and obesity and are less overweight than those in the control group. When college students are included in the sample, the effect continues to remain consistent and statistically significant.
Bibliography Citation
Zakir, Hussain and Joachim Zietz. "Does Walking or Riding a Bike to School Reduce Obesity? Evidence from the NLSY 1979 using Propensity Score Matching." Presented: St. Louis MO, Midwest Economics Association Annual Meeting, March 18-20, 2011.
2. Zietz, Joachim
Joshi, Prathibha V.
Academic Choice Behavior of High School Students: Economic Rationale and Empirical Evidence
Economics of Education Review 24,3 (June 2005): 297-308.
Also: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272775704000901
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: Elsevier
Keyword(s): Aptitude; Education; Family Background and Culture; Family Characteristics; High School; Human Capital; Peers/Peer influence/Peer relations; School Characteristics/Rating/Safety; Schooling; Time Use

This study examines the determinants of US students' choice of alternative programs of study in high school. An explicit theoretical framework grounded in optimizing behavior is derived. The empirical work is based on the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997. The set of variables include student and family characteristics, peer behavior, and students' involvement in work outside the school. The estimation results confirm the theoretical predictions. They suggest that academic aptitude, pre-high school academic performance, and lifetime consumption goals as driven by peer pressure and family background are by far the most important determinants of program choice.
Bibliography Citation
Zietz, Joachim and Prathibha V. Joshi. "Academic Choice Behavior of High School Students: Economic Rationale and Empirical Evidence ." Economics of Education Review 24,3 (June 2005): 297-308.