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Industrialization and Health in Historical Perspective

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Richard H. Steckel

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Abstract

This essay discusses recent progress that has been made in understanding the connection between health and industrialization in 8 developed countries. Because earlier efforts have been stymied by lack of reliable measures of mortality, the most recent work utilizes average height obtained from military records. Average heights measure a population's history of net nutrition during the growing years. Based on this measure, health improved uniformly during industrialization in Sweden, but it actually declined for several decades in two countries and generally improved with interruptions in others. Health was inversely correlated with the degree of urbanization across countries and rising urbanization led to health deterioration, especially in England, Australia, and Japan. Public health policy, diets, and business cycles were also important for health during industrialization.

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Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Historical Working Papers with number 0118.

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Date of creation: Aug 1999
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Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberhi:0118

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Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Dora L. Costa & Richard H. Steckel, 1995. "Long-Term Trends in Health, Welfare, and Economic Growth in the United States," NBER Historical Working Papers 0076, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  2. 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!]
  3. Behrman, Jere R & Deolalikar, Anil B, 1987. "Will Developing Country Nutrition Improve with Income? A Case Study for Rural South India," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 95(3), pages 492-507, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. John Komlos, 1989. "Nutrition and Economic Development in the Eighteenth-Century Habsburg Monarchy: An Anthropometric History," Books by John Komlos, Department of Economics, University of Munich, number 2, March.
  5. 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!]
  6. Richard H. Steckel, 1983. "Height and Per Capita Income," NBER Working Papers 0880, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Brinkman, Henk Jan & Drukker, J. W. & Slot, Brigitte, 1988. "Height and income: A new method for the estimation of historical national income series," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 25(3), pages 227-264, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Victor R. Fuchs, 1972. "The Contribution of Health Services to the American Economy," NBER Chapters, in: Essays in the Economics of Health and Medical Care, pages 1-38 National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!]
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(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Richard H. Steckel, 2001. "Health and Nutrition in the Preindustrial Era: Insights from a Millennium of Average Heights in Northern Europe," NBER Working Papers 8542, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Elizabeth Brainerd, 2006. "Reassessing the Standard of Living in the Soviet Union: An Analysis Using Archival and Anthropometric Data," William Davidson Institute Working Papers Series wp812, William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan Stephen M. Ross Business School. [Downloadable!]
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