Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/184831 
Authors: 
Year of Publication: 
2018
Series/Report no.: 
UCD Centre for Economic Research Working Paper Series No. WP18/02
Publisher: 
University College Dublin, UCD School of Economics, Dublin
Abstract: 
This paper examines the change in body mass index for a cohort of Irish children as they aged from 9 to 13 and decomposes the change into parts attributable to changes in observable characteristics and changes in returns to observable characteristics. The decomposition is carried out over the whole of the distribution, with a particular focus on the upper percentiles and a number of different decomposition techniques are applied and compared. The overall increase in BMI at higher percentiles is modest and is over-explained by the change in characteristics and is not sensitive to the adopted technique. The paper also carries out a number of partial equilibrium counterfactuals examining the impact of non-marginal changes in variables such as exercise and maternal education. The impact of these counterfactuals is limited.
Subjects: 
Overweight
obesity
decomposition
counterfactual
JEL: 
I14
I32
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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