The Rise in Obesity Across the Atlantic
An Economic Perspective
Published Jun 13, 2008
The authors provide comparable evidence on the patterns and trends in obesity across the Atlantic and analyze whether there are economic rationales for public intervention to control obesity. They take into account equity issues as well as efficiency considerations, which are organized around three categories of market failures: productive inefficiencies, lack of information or rationality and health insurance externalities. They also calculate the long term financial consequences of current U.S. and European obesity trends, and conclude with a brief review of current policies to reduce and prevent excessive body weight both in Europe and the U.S.
Topics
Document Details
- Copyright: RAND Corporation
- Availability: Web-Only
- Year: 2008
- Pages: 67
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.7249/WR586
- Document Number: WR-586
Citation
RAND Style Manual
Brunello, Giorgio, Pierre-Carl Michaud, and Anna Sanz-de-Galdeano, The Rise in Obesity Across the Atlantic: An Economic Perspective, RAND Corporation, WR-586, 2008. As of August 26, 2026: https://www.rand.org/pubs/working_papers/WR586.html
Chicago Manual of Style
Brunello, Giorgio, Pierre-Carl Michaud, and Anna Sanz-de-Galdeano, The Rise in Obesity Across the Atlantic: An Economic Perspective. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2008. https://www.rand.org/pubs/working_papers/WR586.html.
This paper series was made possible by the NIA funded RAND Center for the Study of Aging and the NICHD funded RAND Population Research Center.
This publication is part of the RAND working paper series. RAND working papers are intended to share researchers' latest findings and to solicit informal peer review. They have been approved for circulation by RAND but may not have been formally edited or peer reviewed.
This document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law. This representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for noncommercial use only. Unauthorized posting of this publication online is prohibited; linking directly to this product page is encouraged. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of its research documents for commercial purposes. For information on reprint and reuse permissions, please visit www.rand.org/pubs/permissions.
RAND is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis. RAND's publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors.