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Are Restaurants Really Supersizing America?

Michael L. Anderson
U.C. Berkeley - Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics

David A. Matsa
Northwestern University - Department of Finance


June 4, 2009


Abstract:     
While many researchers and policymakers infer from correlations between eating out and body weight that restaurants are a leading cause of obesity, a basic identification problem challenges these conclusions. We design a natural experiment using highways in rural areas to exploit exogenous variation in the effective price of restaurants and examine the impact on body mass. We find no causal link between restaurant consumption and obesity. Analysis of food-intake micro-data suggests that consumers offset calories from restaurant meals by eating less at other times. We conclude that regulation targeting restaurants is unlikely to reduce obesity but could decrease consumer welfare.

Keywords: economics of regulation, health production, obesity, fat tax

JEL Classifications: D12, H25, I12, I18

Working Paper Series

Date posted: January 01, 2008 ; Last revised: June 11, 2009

Suggested Citation

Anderson, Michael L. and Matsa, David A., Are Restaurants Really Supersizing America? (June 4, 2009). Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1079584


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Contact Information

David A. Matsa (Contact Author)
Northwestern University - Department of Finance ( email )
2001 Sheridan Road
Evanston, IL 60208
United States
847-491-8337 (Phone)
847-491-5719 (Fax)
Michael L. Anderson
U.C. Berkeley - Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics ( email )
207 Giannini Hall, MC 3310
Berkeley, CA 94720-3310
United States
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