Data and Code for: Worth Your Weight

Principal Investigator(s):  View help for Principal Investigator(s) Elisa Macchi, MIT

Version:  View help for Version V1

Name File Type Size Last Modified
  code 03/27/2023 04:39:AM
  input 10/15/2022 08:26:PM
  instruments 10/15/2022 08:26:PM
  output 10/15/2022 08:26:PM
  rawdata 01/15/2023 02:01:PM
  rawdata-dhs 03/25/2023 06:16:PM
  temp 10/15/2022 08:27:PM
README.pdf application/pdf 1.5 MB 06/15/2023 02:31:AM
randomization_inference.ado text/plain 604 bytes 10/15/2022 04:26:PM

Project Citation: 

Macchi, Elisa. Data and Code for: Worth Your Weight. Nashville, TN: American Economic Association [publisher], 2023. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2023-08-16. https://doi.org/10.3886/E181481V1

Project Description

Summary:  View help for Summary I study the economic value of obesity---a status symbol in poor countries associated with raised health risks. Randomizing decision-makers in Kampala, Uganda to view weight-manipulated portraits, I find that obesity is perceived as a reliable signal of wealth but not of beauty or health. Thus, leveraging a real-stakes experiment involving professional loan officers, I show that being obese facilitates access to credit. The large obesity premium, comparable to raising borrower self-reported earnings by over 60%, is driven by asymmetric information and drops significantly when providing more financial information. Notably, obesity benefits and wealth-signaling value are commonly overestimated, suggesting market distortions.

Scope of Project

Subject Terms:  View help for Subject Terms status; obesity
JEL Classification:  View help for JEL Classification
      D82 Asymmetric and Private Information; Mechanism Design
      I18 Health: Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
      O16 Economic Development: Financial Markets; Saving and Capital Investment; Corporate Finance and Governance
      Z13 Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification
Geographic Coverage:  View help for Geographic Coverage Uganda
Time Period(s):  View help for Time Period(s) 9/1/2019 – 6/1/2020
Universe:  View help for Universe Loan officers from licensed lending institutions in Kampala, Uganda. General population of Kampala, Uganda.
Data Type(s):  View help for Data Type(s) experimental data; survey data

Methodology

Sampling:  View help for Sampling The beliefs experiment sample includes 511 Greater Kampala residents, quasi randomly selected (stratified by age group, ward of residence and gender). The credit experiment sample includes loan officers (up to three) employed at 146 licensed lending institution from the Greater Kampala Area.
Unit(s) of Observation:  View help for Unit(s) of Observation Individual

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Published Versions

V1 [2023-08-16]

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