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Prices and Health: Identifying the Effects of Nutrition, Exercise, and Medication Choices on Blood Pressure
Author(s) -
Chen ShihNeng,
Shogren Jason F.,
Orazem Peter F.,
Crocker Thomas D.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
american journal of agricultural economics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.949
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1467-8276
pISSN - 0002-9092
DOI - 10.1111/1467-8276.00362
Subject(s) - blood pressure , instrumental variable , economics , nutrient , endogeny , medicine , demographic economics , environmental health , endocrinology , econometrics , biology , ecology
Biomedical studies suggest that a person's behavior matters to health, but these studies usually treat human choice as exogenous. This study shows that individual choices on nutrient intake, exercise, and use of medication are influenced by exogenous food prices, wages, and non‐labor income. Using these exogenous variables as instruments for endogenous behavior makes a big difference in the estimated impact of nutrient intake, exercise, and medication on blood pressure. For example, application of instrumental variables methods changes the impact of sodium on blood pressure from positive to negative and significant.