Pesquisa e Planejamento Econômico, volume 47 | número 2 | agosto 2017

New evidence of the effect of body weight on labor market outcomes in a developing country

Bladimir Carrillo, Pedro Wesley Vertino, Carlos Andres Charris, Alexandre Bragança

Resumo


This paper provides new evidence of the effect of body weight on labor market outcomes in Brazil. The methodology uses the sibling’s body mass index as an instrumental variable to deal with endogeneity issues. We found that body weight has a positive effect on wages and formal employment. Furthermore, we also find heterogeneous effects by sex, race, and residence area. The evidence also suggests that education is an important mechanism through which body weight affects labor market outcomes.

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