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The intergenerational effects of socioeconomic inequality on unhealthy bodyweight
- Source :
- Health economicsREFERENCES. 30(4)
- Publication Year :
- 2020
-
Abstract
- We study the effects of inherited socioeconomic characteristics on markers of unhealthy bodyweight. Taking Australian microdata from 2007 to 2013, we show that approximately 4% of the variation in outcomes is determined by factors beyond an individual's control, such as their race, gender, and social class. Paternal socioeconomic status is the primary explanatory factor, with those born to more affluent fathers slightly less likely to be overweight in adulthood. Decompositions reveal that only 20%-25% of this effect is attributable to advantaged families exhibiting better health behaviors, which implies that unobserved factors also play an important role. Since diseases associated with unhealthy weight place a major strain on public healthcare systems, our results have implications for the provision of treatment when resources are constrained.
- Subjects :
- Adult
Health Behavior
Overweight
Social class
03 medical and health sciences
Race (biology)
Sex Factors
0502 economics and business
medicine
Humans
050207 economics
Socioeconomic status
Applied economics
030503 health policy & services
Health Policy
05 social sciences
Socioeconomic inequality
Australia
Health equity
Social Class
Socioeconomic Factors
Microdata (HTML)
medicine.symptom
0305 other medical science
Psychology
Demography
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 10991050
- Volume :
- 30
- Issue :
- 4
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Health economicsREFERENCES
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....9ec87849711311ce528b68af66a20f31