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Illinois' Net Nutrition During US Economic Development and the Turner Hypothesis: A Microcosm of United States Net Nutrition and Biological Welfare

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  • Scott A. Carson

Abstract

In 1893, Frederick Jackson Turner proposed that America's Far Western frontier was an economic 'safety-valve,' a place where settlers migrated when European and eastern states' economic and social conditions crystallized against their upward mobility. However, Turner's hypothesis has come under recent scrutiny, where it is proposed that weather asymmetries and farmers' inability to adjust their farm sizes and region-specific human capital decreased Central Plains' agricultural productivity. Despite challenges to the Turner hypothesis, the Illinois prison illustrates that Central Plains' average height, BMI, and weight by socioeconomic status, race, and urban residence remained constant and robust; heights were taller, BMIs were higher, and weights were heavier. Rather than decreasing, Illinois's net nutrition remained constant or improved, despite Chicago's rapid industrialization, indicating the Turner hypothesis, as measured by net nutrition, remains a viable economic and net nutritional explanation for conditions on the western frontier.

Suggested Citation

  • Scott A. Carson, 2026. "Illinois' Net Nutrition During US Economic Development and the Turner Hypothesis: A Microcosm of United States Net Nutrition and Biological Welfare," CESifo Working Paper Series 12609, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_12609
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Robert A. Margo, 2000. "Wages and Labor Markets in the United States, 1820-1860," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number marg00-1, January.
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    18. Scott Carson, 2013. "Differences in body mass indices for males imprisoned in the 19th century American South," Journal of Bioeconomics, Springer, vol. 15(1), pages 1-16, April.
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    21. Scott Alan Carson, 2013. "Socioeconomic Effects on the Stature of Nineteenth-Century US Women," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(2), pages 122-143, April.
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    JEL classification:

    • C1 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General
    • C4 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods: Special Topics
    • D1 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior
    • I1 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health
    • N3 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy

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