Does Schooling Affect Health Behavior? Evidence from Educational Expansion in Western Germany

31 Pages Posted: 3 Sep 2009

See all articles by Hendrik Juerges

Hendrik Juerges

University of Wuppertal

Steffen Reinhold

E.CA Economics

Martin Salm

Tilburg University; IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Date Written: July 1, 2009

Abstract

During the postwar period German states pursued policies to increase the share of young Germans obtaining a university entrance diploma (Abitur) by building more academic track schools, but the timing of educational expansion differed between states. This creates exogenous variation in the availability of higher education, which allows estimating the causal effect of education on health behaviors. Using the number of academic track schools in a state as an instrumental variable for years of schooling, we investigate the causal effect of schooling on health behavior such as smoking and related outcomes such as obesity. We find large negative effects of education on smoking. These effects can mostly be attributed to reductions in starting rates rather than increases in quitting rates. We find no causal effect of education on reduced overweight and obesity.

Keywords: Education, Smoking, Obesity

JEL Classification: I12, I20

Suggested Citation

Juerges, Hendrik and Reinhold, Steffen and Salm, Martin, Does Schooling Affect Health Behavior? Evidence from Educational Expansion in Western Germany (July 1, 2009). MEA Discussion Paper No. 186, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1466935 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1466935

Hendrik Juerges (Contact Author)

University of Wuppertal ( email )

Gaußstraße 20
42097 Wuppertal
Germany

Steffen Reinhold

E.CA Economics ( email )

Schlossplatz 1
Berlin, 10178
Germany

Martin Salm

Tilburg University ( email )

P.O. Box 90153
Tilburg, DC Noord-Brabant 5000 LE
Netherlands

IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Schaumburg-Lippe-Str. 7 / 9
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

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