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Explaining stunting in nineteenth-century France

Author

Listed:
  • Gilles Postel-Vinay

    (PSE - Paris-Jourdan Sciences Economiques - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École nationale des ponts et chaussées - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, PSE - Paris School of Economics - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École nationale des ponts et chaussées - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement)

  • David E. Sahn

    (Cornell University [New York])

Abstract

We examine the share of French men with stunted growth during the nineteenth century using data on potential army conscripts. The share of stunted men (those whose height was below 1.62 metres) in France's 82 departments declined dramatically across the century, especially in the south and west. Our models examine the role of education expenditure, health care personnel, local wages, asset distribution, and a dummy variable for Paris as determinants of stunting, decomposing changes over time into the effects of levels and returns to the various explanatory variables used in the model of heights. All covariates are strongly significant, with education spending being particularly important. Our evidence clearly indicates that living in congested Paris contributed to poor health.

Suggested Citation

  • Gilles Postel-Vinay & David E. Sahn, 2010. "Explaining stunting in nineteenth-century France," Post-Print halshs-00754446, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-00754446
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-0289.2009.00490.x
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    Cited by:

    1. Leonardo Ridolfi, 2024. "Gender inequality in a transition economy: heights and sexual height dimorphism in Southwestern France, 1640–1850," Cliometrica, Springer;Cliometric Society (Association Francaise de Cliométrie), vol. 18(1), pages 37-102, January.
    2. Duclos, Jean-Yves & Leblanc, Josée & Sahn, David E., 2011. "Comparing population distributions from bin-aggregated sample data: An application to historical height data from France," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 9(4), pages 419-437.
    3. Ricardo D. Salvatore, 2020. "Stunting Rates in a Food-Rich Country: The Argentine Pampas from the 1850s to the 1950s," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(21), pages 1-22, October.
    4. Ikeda, Nayu & Nishi, Nobuo, 2023. "Spatiotemporal variations in mean height of 17-year-old students born in 1957–2002 across 47 Japanese prefectures: Evidence from School Health Surveys," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I2 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education
    • I3 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty

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