Document Type

Article

Publication Date

8-1-2019

Abstract

We study the causal link between trade openness via free trade agreements and obesity rates. We apply a difference-in-differences approach and exploit the year a country entered a free trade agreement with the United States during the period 1990 to 2016. We find statistically and economically significant results and show that our findings are robust to placebo tests, the use of synthetic control methods, and mechanically maximizing the sample. Additionally, we show that when using event studies the equal trends assumption holds.

Comments

To learn more about the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies and ICEPP, visit https://aysps.gsu.edu/ and https://icepp.gsu.edu.

Share

COinS