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Health, Height and Welfare: Britain 1700-1980

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Author Info
Roderick Floud
Bernard Harris

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Abstract

This paper reviews the evidence regarding the main trends in the height of the British population since the early eighteenth century. We argue that the average heights of successive birth cohorts of British males increased slowly between the middle of the eighteenth century and the first quarter of the nineteenth century. Average heights fell during the second quarter of the nineteenth century, before rising from the 1850s onwards. This analysis is supported by an examination of the main trends in children's heights during the twentieth century. Our findings are compared with the results of an alternative method of measuring human welfare - a modified version of the United Nations' Human Development Index. The main trends in human development reinforce the conclusions drawn from our own interpretation of the anthropometric evidence.

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Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Historical Working Papers with number 0087.

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Date of creation: May 1996
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Publication status: published as Richard H. Stecke and Roderick Flod (editors) Health and Welfare during Industrialization Chicago: Chicago University Press
Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberhi:0087

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  1. John Komlos, . "A Malthusian Episode Revisited: The Height of British and Irish Servants in Colonial America," Articles by John Komlos 18, Department of Economics, University of Munich.
  2. Floud, Roderick, 1984. "Measuring the Transformation of the European Economies: Income, Health and Welfare," CEPR Discussion Papers 33, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. John Komlos, . "The Secular Trend in the Biological Standard of Living in the United Kingdom, 1730-1860," Articles by John Komlos 19, Department of Economics, University of Munich.
  4. John Komlos & Joo Han Kim, . "Estimating Trends in Historical Heights," Articles by John Komlos 25, Department of Economics, University of Munich.
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  1. Roderick Floud, 1998. "Height, Weight, and Body Mass of the British Population Since 1820," NBER Historical Working Papers 0108, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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