The Causal Link between Financial Incentives and Weight Loss: An Evidence‐Based Survey of the Literature
20 Pages Posted: 11 Jun 2014
Date Written: July 2014
Abstract
Obesity and overweight are linked to diseases that cost society a significant amount of resources. While behavior modification can reduce the problem, instigating such lifestyle changes is an uneasy task. One potential way to reduce the problem is through the use of financial incentives. In this survey, we review the available evidence, properly emphasizing studies that credibly yield meaningful estimates of the effect of financial incentives on weight loss. We find that the scientific literature on the subject has not yet satisfactorily settled whether such a mechanism is effective at eliciting the desired behavioral and health outcomes. We therefore advocate a rigorous large‐scale randomized experiment to provide reliable estimates of the effect.
Keywords: Financial incentives, Weight loss, Obesity, Randomized experiment, Survey
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Do you have a job opening that you would like to promote on SSRN?
Recommended Papers
-
Moral Hazard and Selection Among the Poor: Evidence from a Randomized Experiment
-
Does Money Burn Fat? Evidence from a Randomized Experiment
By Boris Augurzky, Thomas K. Bauer, ...
-
Does Money Burn Fat? – Evidence from a Randomized Experiment
By Boris Augurzky, Thomas K. Bauer, ...
-
When Outcome Heterogeneously Matters for Selection – A Generalized Selection Correction Estimator
-
The Phantom Menace of Omitted Variables – a Comment
By Nolan Ritter and Colin Vance
-
The Effect of a Bonus Program for Preventive Health Behavior on Health Expenditures
By Boris Augurzky, Arndt R. Reichert, ...
-
Obesity, Weight Loss, and Employment Prospects – Evidence from a Randomized Trial