Schooling, BMI, Height and Wages: Panel Evidence on Men and Women

Abstract

While the link among wage, BMI, height and schooling has often been estimated based on US data, this study investigates this relationship using panel data for a developing country — Ethiopia. Controlling for endogeneity of schooling and BMI, our findings indicate that wage is significantly affected by education, height and BMI for the overall sample. Disaggregation by gender shows the absence of wage penalties due to higher BMI. Height is found to be a significant factor affecting men’s wage but not of women. Returns to schooling are significant, but more beneficial for women than men. We provide policy implications of our findings.