 [Tim Harford] It is intriguing to contemplate some of the less obvious effects [of cheap oil] . Charles Courtemanche, a health economist at Georgia State University, has found a correlation between low gasoline prices and high obesity rates in the United States. That is partly because, when oil prices are high, people may get out of their cars and walk, cycle or get public transport. Cheap gasoline, on the other hand, puts disposable income into the pockets of families who are likely to spend it on eating out. Low oil prices may make us fat.
| The good professor has it backwards. Lower oil prices should impact prices across the board, leaving the poor with considerably more discretionary income than they've been accustomed to in recent years. Feeling more wealthy, they are likely to engage in the spending patterns of the middle class, patterns which on the whole result in a slimmer, healthier profile. Thus, while lower oil prices will enable more driving and shopping, rather than sitting on the front stoop in the 'hood, the driving is likely to be to the mall, where extended bouts of healthful walking occur, while the eating there is more likely to be nice meals that include a salad instead of the lettuce, tomato, and pickle on a McDonald's hamburger. Q.E.D. |
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