Three essays on health and labor economics /

Abstract

This dissertation consists of three chapters, each providing useful information of current economic issues. The first chapter, "Does Financial Stress Lead to Weight Gain? An Empirical Analysis on the Effects of Net Worth on Body Weight" examines the effects of financial stress caused due to variations in net worth on the respondents body weight. The results indicate that net worth variation is a significant contributor to increases in body weight. Further examination reveals that individuals from indebted households and households with modest net worth are most likely to be gaining body weight. In the second chapter, "Does Walking or Riding a Bike to School Reduce Obesity? Evidence from the NLSY 1979 using Propensity Score Matching." I use the appropriate methodology to select a sample comparable to a treatment consisting of individuals who choose to walk or bike to school and find that those who walk or bike to school are likely to have significantly lower body weight measures. In the third chapter, I use nationally representative longitudinal data from 1986 to 2008 to consider the financial stress caused to mothers due to the variations in their net worth and analyze the effects that it has on the behavioral aspects of their children.