TY  - RPRT
        AU  - Smith, Trenton G.
AU  - Stillman, Steven
AU  - Craig, Stuart
        TI  - 'Rational Overeating' in a Feast-or-Famine World: Economic Insecurity and the Obesity Epidemic
        PY  - 2017/Aug/
        PB  - Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
        CY  - Bonn
        T2  - IZA Discussion Paper
        IS  - 10954
        UR  - https://www.iza.org/index.php/publications/dp10954
        AB  - Obesity rates have risen dramatically in the US since the 1980s, but well-identified studies have struggled to explain the magnitude of the observed changes. In this paper, we estimate the causal impact of economic insecurity on obesity rates. Specifically, we construct a synthetic panel of demographic groups over the period 1988 to 2012 by combining the newly developed Economic Security Index (ESI) with data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES). According to our estimates, increased economic insecurity over this time period explains 50% of the overall population-level increase in obesity.
        KW  - economic security index
KW  - economic insecurity
KW  - obesity
        ER  -