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The causal effect of education on body mass: evidence from Europe

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<mark>Journal publication date</mark>01/2013
<mark>Journal</mark>Journal of Labor Economics
Issue number1
Volume31
Number of pages29
Pages (from-to)195-223
Publication StatusPublished
<mark>Original language</mark>English

Abstract

We adopt a multi-country setup to show that years of schooling have a causal protective effect on the body mass index of females living in nine European countries. No such effect is found for males. The protective effect for European females is not negligible but is smaller than one recently found for the United States and stronger among overweight females. We discuss possible mechanisms justifying both the protective role of education and the gender difference in this role. We argue that the effects of additional schooling on income, the probability of employment, and the frequency of vigorous physical activities, both on and off the job, may help explain our results.