TY  - JOUR
AU  - Zhao,Zhenxiang
AU  - Kaestner,Robert
TI  - Effects of Urban Sprawl on Obesity
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 15436
PY  - 2009
Y2  - October 2009
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w15436
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w15436.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
zhenxiang zhao
Department of Economics
University of Illinois at Chicago
Chicago, Illinois
E-Mail: zzhao5@uic.edu

Robert Kaestner
Institute of Government and Public Affairs
University of Illinois
815 West Van Buren Street, Suite 525
Chicago, IL  60607
Tel: 312/996-8227
E-Mail: kaestner.robert@gmail.com
AB  - In this paper, we examine the effect of changes in population density—urban sprawl—between 1970 and 2000 on BMI and obesity of residents in metropolitan areas in the US.  We address the possible endogeneity of population density by using a two-step instrumental variables approach.  We exploit the plausibly exogenous variation in population density caused by the expansion of the U.S. Interstate Highway System, which largely followed the original 1947 plan for the Interstate Highway System.  We find a negative association between population density and obesity and estimates are robust across a wide range of specifications. Estimates indicate that if the average metropolitan area had not experienced the decline in the proportion of population living in dense areas over the last 30 years, the rate of obesity would have been reduced by approximately 13%.
ER  -