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Wellesley College

Faculty Research and Scholarship

Economics

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Is Being In School Better? The Impact Of School On Children’S Bmi When Starting Age Is Endogenous, Patricia M. Anderson, Kristin F. Butcher, Elizabeth U. Cascio, Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach Sep 2011

Is Being In School Better? The Impact Of School On Children’S Bmi When Starting Age Is Endogenous, Patricia M. Anderson, Kristin F. Butcher, Elizabeth U. Cascio, Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach

Faculty Research and Scholarship

In this paper, we investigate the impact of attending school on body weight and obesity using a regression-discontinuity design. As is the case with academic outcomes, school exposure is related to unobserved determinants of weight outcomes because some families choose to have their child start school late (or early). If one does not account for this endogeneity, it appears that an additional year of school exposure results in a greater BMI and a higher probability of being overweight or obese. When we compare the weight outcomes of similar age children with one versus two years of school exposure due to …


Obesity, Disability, And The Labor Force, Kristin F. Butcher, Kyung H. Park Jan 2008

Obesity, Disability, And The Labor Force, Kristin F. Butcher, Kyung H. Park

Faculty Research and Scholarship

No abstract provided.


Childhood Disadvantage And Obesity: Is Nurture Trumping Nature?, Patricia M. Anderson, Kristin F. Butcher, Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach Oct 2007

Childhood Disadvantage And Obesity: Is Nurture Trumping Nature?, Patricia M. Anderson, Kristin F. Butcher, Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach

Faculty Research and Scholarship

Obesity has been one of the fastest growing health concerns among children, particularly among disadvantaged children. For children overall, obesity rates have tripled from 5% in the early 1970s to about 15% by the early 2000s. For disadvantaged children, obesity rates are closer to 20%. In this paper, we first examine the impact of various measures of disadvantage on children's weight outcomes over the past 30 years, finding that the disadvantaged have gained weight faster. Over the same period, adult obesity rates have grown, and we expect parental obesity to be closely tied to children's obesity, for reasons of both …


Assessing The Impact Of Job Loss On Workers And Firms, Kristin F. Butcher, Kevin F. Hallock Apr 2006

Assessing The Impact Of Job Loss On Workers And Firms, Kristin F. Butcher, Kevin F. Hallock

Faculty Research and Scholarship

No abstract provided.


Bringing Together Policymakers, Researchers, And Practitioners To Discuss Job Loss, Kristin F. Butcher, Kevin F. Hallock Jan 2005

Bringing Together Policymakers, Researchers, And Practitioners To Discuss Job Loss, Kristin F. Butcher, Kevin F. Hallock

Faculty Research and Scholarship

No abstract provided.