Premium
Peer‐Effects in Obesity among Public Elementary School Children: A Grade‐Level Analysis
Author(s) -
Asirvatham Jebaraj,
Nayga Rodolfo M.,
Thomsen Michael R.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
applied economic perspectives and policy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.4
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 2040-5804
pISSN - 2040-5790
DOI - 10.1093/aepp/ppu011
Subject(s) - obesity , statistical analysis , grade level , childhood obesity , correlation , demography , panel analysis , psychology , medicine , mathematics education , panel data , statistics , overweight , mathematics , sociology , geometry
Using a panel dataset at the grade level from Arkansas public schools, this study finds that changes in the obesity prevalence at the oldest grade are associated with changes in obesity prevalence at younger grades. Furthermore, analysis across different school types shows that the peer effects are statistically significant but the magnitude of the effect is greater in kindergarten to fourth‐grade schools than in kindergarten to sixth‐grade schools. We also use tests on spatial and temporal dimensions, as well as by weight status grouping, to provide evidence that these peer effects are more than just a statistical correlation.