@article {Huang1018-9812R2, author = {Wei Huang and Elaine M. Liu and C. Andrew Zuppann}, title = {Relative Obesity and the Formation of Non-cognitive Abilities During Adolescence*}, elocation-id = {1018-9812R2}, year = {2020}, doi = {10.3368/jhr.58.2.1018-9812R2}, publisher = {University of Wisconsin Press}, abstract = {We study the role of relative childhood and adolescent obesity in the development of non- cognitive abilities. We employ a novel identification strategy, utilizing the fact that one{\textquoteright}s body size is a relative concept and there are large variations in body sizes across MSAs. We focus on children who move between MSAs. Controlling for origin-destination state pair fixed effects, we find that a 10 percentile point increase in relative body size would increase behavioral problems by 2 percentile points. This effect is of a similar magnitude to a two-year reduction in maternal education.}, issn = {0022-166X}, URL = {https://jhr.uwpress.org/content/early/2020/11/04/jhr.58.2.1018-9812R2}, eprint = {https://jhr.uwpress.org/content/early/2020/11/04/jhr.58.2.1018-9812R2.full.pdf}, journal = {Journal of Human Resources} }