Journal article
College selectivity and young adult health behaviors
Economics of education review, Vol.30(5), pp.826-837
2011
DOI: 10.1016/j.econedurev.2011.04.005
Abstract
► College quality has been shown to affect many adult outcomes but almost no research has examined health. ► The paper examines short and medium term effects of attending a selective college on health behaviors. ► College selectivity is found to lower tobacco and drug use and has small, positive effects on drinking.
Large literatures have shown important links between the quantity of completed education and health outcomes on one hand and the quality or selectivity of schooling on a host of adult outcomes, such as wages, on the other hand. However, little research attempts to produce evidence of the link between school quality and health. The paper presents the first evidence in the literature on the potential short and intermediate term effects of attending a selective college on health behaviors during and following college attendance. Using a variety of empirical methods, this paper shows strong evidence that college selectivity reduces tobacco and marijuana use but has small and possibly positive effects on binge drinking. The effects on weight behaviors are suggestive of reduced weight, potentially through diet, but not exercise change.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- College selectivity and young adult health behaviors
- Creators
- Jason M. Fletcher - Yale UniversityDavid E. Frisvold - Emory University
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Economics of education review, Vol.30(5), pp.826-837
- Publisher
- Elsevier India Pvt Ltd
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.econedurev.2011.04.005
- ISSN
- 0272-7757
- eISSN
- 1873-7382
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 2011
- Academic Unit
- Economics; Public Policy Center (Archive)
- Record Identifier
- 9984283573802771
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