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Stature and status: Height, ability, and labor market outcomes

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Author Info
Anne Case (Princeton University)
Christina Paxson (Princeton University)

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Abstract

It has long been recognized that taller adults hold jobs of higher status and, on average, earn more than other workers. A large number of hypotheses have been put forward to explain the association between height and earnings. In developed countries, researchers have emphasized factors such as self esteem, social dominance, and discrimination. In this paper, we offer a simpler explanation: On average, taller people earn more because they are smarter. As early as age 3 — before schooling has had a chance to play a role — and throughout childhood, taller children perform significantly better on cognitive tests. The correlation between height in childhood and adulthood is approximately 0.7 for both men and women, so that tall children are much more likely to become tall adults. As adults, taller individuals are more likely to select into higher paying occupations that require more advanced verbal and numerical skills and greater intelligence, for which they earn handsome returns. Using four data sets from the US and the UK, we find that the height premium in adult earnings can be explained by childhood scores on cognitive tests. Furthermore, we show that taller adults select into occupations that have higher cognitive skill requirements and lower physical skill demands.

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Paper provided by Princeton University, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Center for Health and Wellbeing. in its series Working Papers with number 27.

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Date of creation: Aug 2006
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Handle: RePEc:pri:cheawb:27

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I1 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health
J3 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs

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References listed on IDEAS
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  1. John Strauss & Duncan Thomas, 1998. "Health, Nutrition, and Economic Development," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 36(2), pages 766-817, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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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. Mariano Bosch & Carlos Bozzoli & Climent Quintana, 2009. "Infant mortality, income and adult stature in Spain," Working Papers 2009-27, FEDEA. [Downloadable!]
  2. Jere R. Behrman & John Hoddinott & John A. Maluccio & Reynaldo Martorell, 2009. "Brains versus Brawn: Labor Market Returns to Intellectual and Health Human Capital in a Poor Developing Country," Middlebury College Working Paper Series 0907, Middlebury College, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  3. Anne Case & Christina Paxson & Mahnaz Islam, 2008. "Making Sense of the Labor Market Height Premium: Evidence From the British Household Panel Survey," NBER Working Papers 14007, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  4. Lopez-Pablos, Rodrigo A., 2007. "Health Econometric: Uncovering the Anthropometric Behavior on the Women's Labor Market," MPRA Paper 5961, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 02 Feb 2008. [Downloadable!]
  5. Lopez-Pablos, Rodrigo A., 2008. "Notas sobre Descomposiciones Microeconométricas: Un Análisis Antropométrico
    [Notes on Microeconometric Decompositions: An Anthropometric Analysis]    ," MPRA Paper 8222, University Library of Munich, Germany. [Downloadable!]
  6. Bryan S. Graham & James Powell, 2008. "Identification and Estimation of 'Irregular' Correlated Random Coefficient Models," NBER Working Papers 14469, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Brian A’Hearn & Franco Peracchi & Giovanni Vecchi, 2007. "Living standards and the distribution of heights: Italy, 1855-1910," Working Papers 229, Princeton University, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Center for Health and Wellbeing.. [Downloadable!]
  8. Janet Currie & Mark Stabile & Phongsack Manivong & Leslie L. Roos, 2008. "Child Health and Young Adult Outcomes," NBER Working Papers 14482, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. Francesco Cinnirella & Joachim Winter, 2009. "Size Matters! Body Height and Labor Market Discrimination: A Cross-European Analysis," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo Group Munich. [Downloadable!]
  10. Silke Anger & Guido Heineck, 2009. "Do Smart Parents Raise Smart Children?: The Intergenerational Transmission of Cognitive Abilities," SOEPpapers 156, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP). [Downloadable!]
  11. John Komlos, 2009. "Recent Trends in Height by Gender and Ethnicity in the US in Relation to Levels of Income," NBER Working Papers 14635, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  12. Jörg Baten & Dorothee Crayen & Joachim Voth, 2007. "Poor, Hungry and Stupid: Numeracy and the Impact of High Food Prices in Industrializing Britain, 1780-1850," Economics Working Papers 1120, Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, revised Jan 2008. [Downloadable!]
  13. Macours, Karen & Schady, Norbert & Vakis, Renos, 2008. "Cash transfers, behavioral changes, and cognitive development in early childhood : evidence from a randomized experiment," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4759, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
  14. Wenshu Gao & Russell Smyth, 2009. "Health Human Capital, Height and Wages in China," Monash Economics Working Papers 05/09, Monash University, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  15. Brian A'Hearn & Franco Peracchi & Giovanni Vecchi, 2008. "Height and the normal distribution: Evidence from Italian military data," CEIS Research Paper 124, Tor Vergata University, CEIS, revised 14 Jul 2008. [Downloadable!]
  16. von Hinke Kessler Scholder, S, 2009. "*** Article withdrawn *** The Effect of Child Weight on Academic Performance: Evidence using Genetic Markers," Health, Econometrics and Data Group (HEDG) Working Papers 09/25, HEDG, c/o Department of Economics, University of York. [Downloadable!]
  17. Janet Currie, 2008. "Healthy, Wealthy, and Wise: Socioeconomic Status, Poor Health in Childhood, and Human Capital Development," NBER Working Papers 13987, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  18. Ferreira, Francisco H. G. & Schady, Norbert, 2008. "Aggregate economic shocks, child schooling and child health," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4701, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
  19. Komlos, John, 2009. "How useful is anthropometric history?," Discussion Papers in Economics 10587, University of Munich, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  20. Trevon D. Logan, 2008. "Health, Human Capital, and African American Migration Before 1910," NBER Working Papers 14037, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  21. Lundborg, Petter & Nystedt, Paul & Rooth, Dan-Olof, 2009. "The Height Premium in Earnings: The Role of Physical Capacity and Cognitive and Non-Cognitive Skills," IZA Discussion Papers 4266, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  22. Sonia Oreffice & Climent Quintana, 2009. "Anthropometry and Socioeconomics in the Couple: Evidence from the PSID," Working Papers 2009-22, FEDEA. [Downloadable!]
  23. Joan Costa Font & Joan Gil Trasfi, 2007. "Generational Effects on Adult Height in Contemporary Spain: Exploring Gender and Individual Heterogeneity," Working Papers in Economics 169, Universitat de Barcelona. Espai de Recerca en Economia. [Downloadable!]
  24. Jaume Garcia Villar & Climent Quintana-Domeque, 2006. "The Evolution of Adult Height in Europe: A Brief Note," Economics Working Papers 1002, Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, revised Feb 2007. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
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