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Imitative obesity and relative utility
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Blanchflower, David G., Oswald, Andrew J. and Van Landeghem, Bert (2009) Imitative obesity and relative utility. Journal of the European Economic Association, 7 (2-3). pp. 528-538. doi:10.1162/JEEA.2009.7.2-3.528 ISSN 1542-4766.
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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1162/JEEA.2009.7.2-3.528
Abstract
If human beings care about their relative weight, a form of imitative obesity can emerge (in which people subconsciously keep up with the weight of the Joneses). Using Eurobarometer data on 29 countries, this paper provides cross-sectional evidence that overweight perceptions and dieting are influenced by a person's relative BMI, and longitudinal evidence from the German Socioeconomic Panel that well-being is influenced by relative BMI. Highly educated people see themselves as fatter-at any given actual weight-than those with low education. These results should be treated cautiously, and fixed-effects estimates are not always well determined, but there are grounds to take seriously the possibility of socially contagious obesity. (JEL: D1, I12, I31)
Item Type: | Journal Article | ||||
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Subjects: | H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions | ||||
Divisions: | Faculty of Social Sciences > Economics | ||||
Journal or Publication Title: | Journal of the European Economic Association | ||||
Publisher: | Oxford University Press | ||||
ISSN: | 1542-4766 | ||||
Official Date: | April 2009 | ||||
Dates: |
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Volume: | 7 | ||||
Number: | 2-3 | ||||
Number of Pages: | 11 | ||||
Page Range: | pp. 528-538 | ||||
DOI: | 10.1162/JEEA.2009.7.2-3.528 | ||||
Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||
Publication Status: | Published | ||||
Access rights to Published version: | Restricted or Subscription Access |
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