Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/207501 
Year of Publication: 
2019
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 12677
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
In this paper, we investigate the effects of trade in foods on obesity in Mexico. To do so, we match data on Mexican food imports from the U.S. with anthropometric and food expenditure data. Our findings suggest that exposure to food imports from the U.S. can explain up to twenty percent of the rise in obesity prevalence among Mexican women between 1988 and 2012. Pro-obesity effects are driven by areas more exposed to unhealthy food imports. We also find evidence in favour of a price mechanism. By linking trade flows to obesity, the paper sheds light on an important channel through which globalisation may affect health.
Subjects: 
trade
obesity
nutrition transition
Mexico
JEL: 
F60
F61
I10
I12
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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