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Economic Freedom and Exercise: Evidence from State Outcomes
Author(s) -
Hall Joshua C.,
Humphreys Brad R.,
Ruseski Jane E.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
southern economic journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.762
H-Index - 58
eISSN - 2325-8012
pISSN - 0038-4038
DOI - 10.1002/soej.12258
Subject(s) - economic freedom , variety (cybernetics) , state (computer science) , demographic economics , physical activity , health benefits , economics , political science , medicine , physical therapy , algorithm , artificial intelligence , computer science , market economy , traditional medicine
Exercise is an important part of a healthy lifestyle and influences a variety of health outcomes. Regions vary in their levels of exercise due to geography, climate, culture, and policy. The extent to which a country's policies are consistent with economic freedom has been found to be positively associated with greater participation in physical activity. We empirically investigate the relationship between economic freedom and exercise across U.S. states. Contrary to the cross‐country results, we find that states with higher levels of economic freedom have lower rates of participation in exercise.