NATIONAL BUREAU OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH

CONFERENCE ON ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF OBESITY

NOVEMBER 10-11, 2008

Organizers: Michael Grossman and Naci Mocan

LOD COOK CONFERENCE CENTER AND HOTEL, LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY

Noland/Laborde Hall

3848 West Lakeshore Dr., Baton Rouge, LA

Program

Sunday Evening, November 9
6:30 pm	Dinner, at the LSU Faculty Club.
	Highland Road and Raphael Semmes Drive
Monday, November 10
	Breakfast at Lod Cook Conference Center is served starting at 6:00 a.m.
8:30 a.m.:	Welcoming Remarks
	Michael Grossman, City University of New York Graduate Center and NBER
	Naci Mocan, E. J. Ourso College of Business, Louisiana State University and NBER
	Eli Jones, Dean, E. J. Ourso College of Business, Louisiana State University
	Tracy Orleans, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
	Christy Oliver Reeves, Director, Community Relations and Executive Director of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana Foundation
	Chair of Morning Session: Tomas Philipson, University of Chicago and NBER
9:00 a.m.:	Effects of the Minimum Wage on Obesity
	David Meltzer, University of Chicago and NBER
	Zhuo (Adam) Chen, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
	Discussant: Kristin Butcher, Wellesley College
10:00 a.m.:	Break
10:15 a.m.:	Outcomes in a Program that Offers Financial Rewards for Weight Loss
	John Cawley, Cornell University and NBER
	Joshua Price, Cornell University
	Discussant: Dhaval Dave, Bentley College and NBER
11:15 a.m.	Break
11:30 a.m.:	Food Prices and Body Weight Among Older Americans
	Darius Lakdawalla, RAND and NBER
	Dana Goldman, RAND and NBER
	Yuhui Zheng, RAND
	Discussant: Michael Anderson, University of California at Berkeley
12:30 p.m.:	Lunch, Abell Room, Lod Cook Conference Center
	Chair of Afternoon Session: Laura Argys, University of Colorado at Denver
1:30 p.m.:	Economic Contextual Factors and Child Body Mass Index
	Lisa Powell, University of Illinois at Chicago
	Frank Chaloupka, University of Illinois at Chicago and NBER
	Discussant: Tinna Asgeirsdottir, University of Iceland
2:30 p.m.:	Break
2:45 p.m.:	The Relationship between Neighborhood Quality and Obesity among Children
	Bisakha Sen, University of Alabama at Birmingham
	Stephen Mennemeyer, University of Alabama at Birmingham
	Lisa Gary, University of Alabama at Birmingham
	Discussant: Susan Averett, Lafayette College
3:45 p.m.:	Break
4:00 p.m.:	Studying the Child Obesity Epidemic with Natural Experiments
	Robert Sandy, Indiana University/Purdue University
	Rusty Tchernis, Indiana University and NBER
	Discussant: Barbara Schone, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
6:30 p.m.:	Dinner
	Juban’s Restaurant
	3739 Perkins Road
	Baton Rouge, LA
	Shuttle Vans depart Lod Cook Hotel at 6:00
Tuesday, November 11
	Breakfast at Lod Cook Conference Center is served starting at 6:00 a.m.
	Chair of Morning Session: Naci Mocan, Louisiana State University and NBER
7:45 a.m.:	Food Stamp Program and Consumption Choices
	Neeraj Kaushal, Columbia University and NBER
	Qin Gao, Fordham University
	Discussant: Kerry Anne McGeary, Drexel University
8:45 a.m.:	Break
9:00 a.m.:	Physical Activity: Economic and Policy Factors
	Melayne McInnes, University of South Carolina
	Judy Shinogle, University of Maryland
	Discussant: James Sallis, San Diego State University
10:00 a.m.:	Effects of Weight on Adolescent Educational Attainment
	Robert Kaestner, University of Illinois at Chicago and NBER
	Michael Grossman, City University of New York Graduate Center and NBER
	Ben Yarnoff, University of Illinois at Chicago
	Discussant: Jeffrey DeSimone, University of Texas at Arlington and NBER
11:15 a.m.:	Lunch, Abell Room, Lod Cook Conference Center
	Chair of Afternoon Session: Henry Saffer, Kean University and NBER
12:15 p.m.:	Where Does the Wage Penalty Bite?
	Christopher Ruhm, University of North Carolina at Greensboro and NBER
	Christian Gregory, University of North Carolina at Greensboro
	Discussant: Roy Wada, UCLA
1:15 p.m.:	Does Health Insurance Make You Fat?
	Jay Bhattacharya, Stanford University and NBER
	Kate Bundorf, Stanford University and NBER
	Noemi Pace, University College of London
	Neeraj Sood, Rand and NBER
	Discussant: Alan Monheit, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey School of Public Health and NBER
2:15 p.m.:	Break
2:30 p.m.:	Obesity, Self-esteem, and Wages
	Naci Mocan, Louisiana State University and NBER
	Erdal Tekin, Georgia State University and NBER
	Discussant: Sara Markowitz, Emory University and NBER
3:30 p.m.:	Adjourn
Authors will present for 30 minutes, discussants will critique for 15 minutes followed by 15 minutes of general discussion.