Venue: The Fuqua School of Business, Duke University, 1 Towerview Drive, Durham, NC 27708-0120

 

Presentation

Measuring Social Interactions in Large Groups: The Case of Adolescent Obesity in the U.S.

Authors:

Presenter: M. Christopher Auld (University of Calgary)

Discussant: Justin G Trogdon (RTI International)

Session: Peer Effects in Adolescent Substance Use, Sex, and Obesity

Room: Classroom D

When: Monday 8:30 a.m. - 10 a.m.

We study the individual and social determinants of obesity over time in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 cohorts. We find that variation across time and space in body weight varies more than can be easily explained by changes in root causes such as prices or labor market outcomes, suggesting social interactions may be important in explaining obesity patterns. Using both fixed effects methods and an instrumental variables strategy which uses a measure of regional genetic propensity to be obese as an instrument for aspects of the regional distribution of body weight, we estimate structural models including endogenous social interactions.