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Health during Industrialization: Evidence from the 19th Century Pennsylvania State Prison System

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Author Info
Scott A. Carson ()
Abstract

The use of height data to measure living standards is now a well-established method in economic history. Moreover, a number of core findings in this literature are widely agreed upon. There are still some populations, places, and times, however, for which anthropometric evidence remains thin. One example is African-Americans in the US Northeast and Middle Atlantic states during the 1800s. Here, a new data is used from the Pennsylvania state prison to track black and white male heights incarcerated between 1829 to 1909. Throughout the century, and controlling for a number of characteristics, Pennsylvania black men in were shorter than white men. The well-known mid-century height decline is confirmed among white men, however, extended to blacks as well.

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Paper provided by CESifo Group Munich in its series CESifo Working Paper Series with number CESifo Working Paper No. 1975.

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Date of creation: 2007
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Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_1975

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Production
I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare and Poverty - - - General Welfare
J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities and Races; Non-labor Discrimination
J70 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - General
N31 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Income, and Wealth - - - U.S.; Canada: Pre-1913

References listed on IDEAS
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  1. Komlos, John & Coclanis, Peter, 1997. "On the Puzzling Cycle in the Biological Standard of Living: The Case of Antebellum Georgia," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 433-459, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. David Cutler & Angus Deaton & Adriana Lleras-Muney, 2006. "The Determinants of Mortality," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 20(3), pages 97-120, Summer.
    Other versions:
  3. Lars Sandberg & Richard H. Steckel, 1997. "Was Industrialization Hazardous to Your Health? Not in Sweden!," NBER Chapters, in: Health and Welfare during Industrialization, pages 127-160 National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!]
  4. Richard H. Steckel, 1983. "The Economic Foundations of East-West Migration During the Nineteenth Century," NBER Working Papers 0881, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Robert W. Fogel, 1984. "Nutrition and the Decline in Mortality Since 1700: Some Preliminary Findings," NBER Working Papers 1402, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  6. Margo, Robert A. & Steckel, Richard H., 1983. "Heights of Native-Born Whites During the Antebellum Period," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 43(01), pages 167-174, March. [Downloadable!]
  7. Komlos, John & Baur, Marieluise, 2003. "From the Tallest to (One of) the Fattest: The Enigmatic Fate of the American Population in the 20th Century," Discussion Papers in Economics 76, University of Munich, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  8. Richard H. Steckel, 1991. "Stature and Living Standards in the United States," NBER Historical Working Papers 0024, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  9. Bodenhorn, Howard, 1999. "A Troublesome Caste: Height and Nutrition of Antebellum Virginia's Rural Free Blacks," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 59(04), pages 972-996, December. [Downloadable!]
  10. Komlos, John, 1998. "Shrinking in a Growing Economy? The Mystery of Physical Stature during the Industrial Revolution," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 58(03), pages 779-802, September. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  11. Komlos, John, 1987. "The Height and Weight of West Point Cadets: Dietary Change in Antebellum America," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 47(04), pages 897-927, December. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  12. John Komlos, 1992. "Toward an Anthropometric History of African-Americans: The Case of the Free Blacks in Antebellum Maryland," NBER Chapters, in: Strategic Factors in Nineteenth Century American Economic History: A Volume to Honor Robert W. Fogel, pages 297-329 National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!]
  13. Richard H. Steckel, 1983. "Height and Per Capita Income," NBER Working Papers 0880, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  14. Steckel, Richard H., 1979. "Slave height profiles from coastwise manifests," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 16(4), pages 363-380, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  15. Richard H. Steckel, 1995. "Percentiles of Modern Height Standards for Use in Historical Research," NBER Historical Working Papers 0075, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  16. John Komlos, . "Anomalies in Economic History: Reflections on the 'Antebellum Puzzle'," Articles by John Komlos 12, Department of Economics, University of Munich.
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