PA BROWN BAG SERIES: Neighborhood Crime & Childhood Obesity: Evidence From NYC
April 20 - 12, 2018
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Bring your lunch and join us for…
PA Brown Bag Series
Neighborhood Crime and Childhood Obesity: Evidence From NYC
Presented by Dr. Agustina Laurito
4/20 at Noon in Rm 2102 AEH
This paper examines the relationship between neighborhood violent crime and childhood weight outcomes. It uses data on all crimes reported in NYC geocoded to the blockface level and matched to NYC public school students’ records including their objective weight measures from the annual Fitnessgram assessment. The empirical strategy exploits variation in the timing of violent crimes relative to the Fitnessgram month in models with census tract fixed effects. That is, we compare the weight outcomes of children exposed to violent crime on their residential block in the year between Fitnessgram tests with students not exposed living in the same neighborhood. Preliminary results show an increase in the probability of obesity for boys in grades 1-5, especially when exposed to three or more violent crimes on their block. We also explore how the relationship varies by race/ethnicity, and poverty.
Date posted
Apr 12, 2018
Date updated
Apr 12, 2018