Just in time for the holidays, the economists Roy Wada and Erdal Tekin have a new NBER working paper they’ve tactfully named “Body Composition and Wages.” It contains bad news for those planning to overindulge. The abstract reads, in part:
Our results indicate that increased body fat is unambiguously associated with decreased wages for both males and females. This result is in contrast to the mixed and sometimes inconsistent results from the previous research using body mass index (BMI). We also find new evidence indicating that a higher level of fat-free body mass is consistently associated with increased hourly wages. We present further evidence that these results are not the artifacts of unobserved heterogeneity.
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I’m curious about the fat-(low)-wage mechanism. Is it like the beauty thing, where beautiful people are paid more, and ugly people less? Or are fat people more sluggish and so less productive?
Is going on a diet a way to get a raise? I doubt it…
I’m curious about the fat-(low)-wage mechanism. Is it like the beauty thing, where beautiful people are paid more, and ugly people less? Or are fat people more sluggish and so less productive?
Is going on a diet a way to get a raise? I doubt it…
As BMI is a rotten indicator of obesity, does that imply that heavily muscled people are paid less also, thus providing a disincentive to exercise beyond a certain trade-off point?
As BMI is a rotten indicator of obesity, does that imply that heavily muscled people are paid less also, thus providing a disincentive to exercise beyond a certain trade-off point?
I think it would likely correspond to the halo effect that gives the beautiful a bump. I would imagine weight loss would correspond to some increase in wages. What I’d be interested in is how well this correlation holds up in the professional fields. It’s one thing for an hourly wage earner to end up making a little more than other employees, quite another if its a determinant in being a partner, chief resident, etc.
As to the BMI, it works overall when looking at the whole population, as we aren’t quite yet a nation of bodybuilders. Certainly there will be people whose BMI does not at all mesh with their bodyfat, but that won’t be a significant percentage in the US at this time.
I think it would likely correspond to the halo effect that gives the beautiful a bump. I would imagine weight loss would correspond to some increase in wages. What I’d be interested in is how well this correlation holds up in the professional fields. It’s one thing for an hourly wage earner to end up making a little more than other employees, quite another if its a determinant in being a partner, chief resident, etc.
As to the BMI, it works overall when looking at the whole population, as we aren’t quite yet a nation of bodybuilders. Certainly there will be people whose BMI does not at all mesh with their bodyfat, but that won’t be a significant percentage in the US at this time.
But fat people stay at their desks more so they are more productive.
I’d rather have a fat ass who orders take out and eats at his/her desk than a fitness freak who takes an hour lunch to go the gym working for me.
But fat people stay at their desks more so they are more productive.
I’d rather have a fat ass who orders take out and eats at his/her desk than a fitness freak who takes an hour lunch to go the gym working for me.