@article {Huang2086, author = {Wei Huang and Elaine M. Liu and C. Andrew Zuppann}, title = {Relative Obesity and the Formation of Noncognitive Abilities during Adolescence}, volume = {57}, number = {6}, pages = {2086--2112}, year = {2022}, 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 noncognitive 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{\textendash}destination state pair fixed effects, we find that a ten percentile point increase in relative body size would increase behavioral problems by two 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/57/6/2086}, eprint = {https://jhr.uwpress.org/content/57/6/2086.full.pdf}, journal = {Journal of Human Resources} }