Does Obesity Affect Occupational Status?-Empirical Test Based on CGSS Mixed Cross-Section Data

Abstract

Obesity is an important public health concern, and may has an effect on workers' income, occupational status and labor supply. This study examines data from the Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS), and discusses the direct effect, social capital effect, human capital effect and discrimination effect of obesity on occupational status. This paper uses the average BMI of different people from the same community as an instrument variable to account for endogenous concerns and measurement error. Analysis of the mechanism by which obesity affects individuals in high-level occupational status verifies the direct effect and social capital effect, but the human capital and discrimination effect were not verified. Furthermore, the final result showed that obesity has a significantly negative impact on individuals reaching a high-level occupational status. The negative impact of obesity on individuals with a high-level occupational status was a result of direct and social capital effects. Keywords—obesity; occupational status; social capital; human capit; discrimination effect