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Does a slump really make you thinner? Finnish micro‐level evidence 1978–2002
Author(s) -
Böckerman Petri,
Johansson Edvard,
Helakorpi Satu,
Prättälä Ritva,
Vartiainen Erkki,
Uutela Antti
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
health economics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.55
H-Index - 109
eISSN - 1099-1050
pISSN - 1057-9230
DOI - 10.1002/hec.1156
Subject(s) - microdata (statistics) , slump , contrast (vision) , economics , demographic economics , psychology , demography , geography , sociology , computer science , population , archaeology , artificial intelligence , cement , census
This paper explores the relationship between height‐adjusted weight and economic conditions in Finland, using individual microdata for the period 1978–2002. If anything, the results reveal that an improvement in regional economic conditions measured by the employment rate produces a decrease in BMI, other things being equal. The Finnish evidence presented does not support the conclusions reported for the USA, according to which temporary economic slowdowns are good for health. In contrast, at least BMI seems to increase during slumps. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.