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The Impact of Overweight on Wages of Russians
https://doi.org/10.34023/2313-6383-2025-32-1-51-63
Abstract
This paper examines the impact of Body Mass Index (BMI) on individual earnings. The study aims to determine whether there is weight–wage discrimination against individuals with higher BMI levels in the Russian labor market, resulting in lower wages, all other things being equal. The distinctive feature of this study is that the author analyzed the results of representative annual population surveys using regression analysis methods, allowing control for potential reverse causality between BMI and wages. The research used a panel dataset of officially employed respondents from the Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey collected by HSE University (RLMS–HSE) from 2013 to 2022.
To address the endogeneity problem in studying the relationship between BMI and wages and to obtain consistent estimates of regression coefficients, the paper employs the instrumental variable (IV) method, which relies on the heteroscedasticity of residuals.
The findings indicate that the wages of overweight or obese workers are significantly lower than those of normal-weight employees. Thus, an individual's BMI, in addition to other socio-economic and demographic characteristics, can be considered a factor affecting the wages of Russians.
Keywords
Body Mass Index (BMI),
wage,
endogeneity,
regression analysis,
two-stage least squares (TSLS) model,
Lewbel’s method
Supporting agencies: The article was prepared within the framework of the HSE University Basic Research Program.
About the Author
A. S. Deeva
National Research University Higher School of Economics
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Anastasiia S. Deeva – Postgraduate Student, Doctoral School of Economics; Intern Researcher, Laboratory of Economic Research in Public Sector, Centre for Basic Studie.
20, Myasnitskaya Str., Moscow, 101000
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Review
For citations:
Deeva A.S. The Impact of Overweight on Wages of Russians. Voprosy statistiki. 2025;32(1):51-63. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.34023/2313-6383-2025-32-1-51-63
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