Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/170938 
Year of Publication: 
2017
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 10954
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
Obesity rates have risen dramatically in the US since the 1980s, but well-identified studies have struggled to explain the magnitude of the observed changes. In this paper, we estimate the causal impact of economic insecurity on obesity rates. Specifically, we construct a synthetic panel of demographic groups over the period 1988 to 2012 by combining the newly developed Economic Security Index (ESI) with data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES). According to our estimates, increased economic insecurity over this time period explains 50% of the overall population-level increase in obesity.
Subjects: 
obesity
economic insecurity
economic security index
JEL: 
D10
I12
I18
J60
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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