Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/209173 
Year of Publication: 
2019
Series/Report no.: 
Working Paper No. 930
Publisher: 
Levy Economics Institute of Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY
Abstract: 
This paper describes the application of a semiparametric approach, known as a varying coefficients model (Hastie and Tibshirani 1993), to implement a Oaxaca-Blinder type of decomposition in the presence of self-selection into treatment groups for a continuum of comparison groups. The flexibility of this methodology may allow for detecting heterogeneity of the role of endowment and coefficient effects when analyzing endogenous dose treatments. The methodology is then used to revisit the impact of obesity on wages (Cawley 2004), using body mass index (BMI) as the continuous group variable. The results suggest that body weight does have a negative impact on wages for white women, but the impact decreases for higher BMI levels. For white men, the impact is also negative and significant, but positive for low levels of BMI, which explains why they are not significant in the linear instrumental variables approach.
Subjects: 
Oaxaca-Blinder Decomposition
Heckman Selection
Heckit
Semiparametric
Kernel
Nonlinear
Body Mass Index
Weight
Wages
JEL: 
C14
I19
J31
J71
Document Type: 
Working Paper

Files in This Item:
File
Size
499.37 kB





Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.