Wide cross-country variation in obesity rates have been reported within European Union member states. However, health production determinants for these differences have been largely overlooked in the health economics literature. In this paper we propose a methodology for conducting standardized...

We use life satisfaction and Body Mass Index (BMI) information from three waves of the GSOEP to test for social interactions in BMI between spouses. Semi-parametric regressions show that partner’s BMI is, beyond a certain level, negatively correlated with own satisfaction. Own BMI is...

We provide new evidence on the extent to which the demand for cigarettes is derived from the demand for weight control (i.e. weight loss or avoidance of weight gain). We utilize nationally representative data that provide the most direct evidence to date on this question: individuals are...

Body mass index (BMI), weight(kg)/ height(m)2, is a widely used measure for obesity in medical science. In economics, there appeared studies (e.g., Cawley (2004) and Burkhauser and Cawley (2008)) showing that BMI has a negative (or no) effect on wage. But BMI is a tightly specified function of...