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College selectivity and young adult health behaviors
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Economics of Education Review Volume 30, Number 5, ISSN 0272-7757 Publisher: Elsevier Ltd

Abstract

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.

Citation

Fletcher, J.M. & Frisvold, D.E. (2011). College selectivity and young adult health behaviors. Economics of Education Review, 30(5), 826-837. Elsevier Ltd. Retrieved August 13, 2024 from .

This record was imported from Economics of Education Review on March 1, 2019. Economics of Education Review is a publication of Elsevier.

Full text is availabe on Science Direct: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2011.04.005

Keywords

References

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