The Impact of Obesity on Wages: the Role of Personal Interactions and Job Selection

Moro, Andrea and Tello-Trillo, D. Sebastian and Tempesti, Tommaso (2018): The Impact of Obesity on Wages: the Role of Personal Interactions and Job Selection.

Abstract

We estimate the effects of obesity on wages accounting for the workers' sorting into jobs requiring different levels of personal interactions in the workplace. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 combined with detailed information about jobs from O*Net, we find a wage penalty for obese white women. This penalty is higher in jobs that require a high level of personal interactions. Accounting for job selection does not significantly change the estimated wage penalty.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: obesity,wages,selection,personal interactions
• Subjects: I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I0 - General; I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I1 - Health > I12 - Health Behavior; I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I1 - Health > I14 - Health and Inequality; J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J3 - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs > J31 - Wage Level and Structure ; Wage Differentials

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