New evidence of the effect of body weight on labor market outcomes in a developing country
Autores
Bladimir Carrillo
Pedro Wesley Vertino
Carlos Andres Charris
Alexandre Bragança
Palavras-chave:
Body weight, Labor market outcomes, Informal employment, Human Capital
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.