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Child height, health and human capital: evidence using genetic markers

Author

Listed:
  • von Hinke Kessler Scholder, S
  • Davey Smith, G
  • Lawlor, DA
  • Propper, C
  • Windmeijer, F

Abstract

Height has long been recognized as being associated with better outcomes: the question is whether this association is causal. We use children's genetic variants as instrumental variables to deal with possible unobserved confounders and examine the effect of child/adolescent height on a wide range of outcomes: academic performance, IQ, self-esteem, depression symptoms and behavioral problems. OLS findings show that taller children have higher IQ, perform better in school, and are less likely to have behavioral problems. The IV results differ: taller girls (but not boys) have better cognitive performance and, in contrast to the OLS, greater height appears to increase behavioral problems.
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Suggested Citation

  • von Hinke Kessler Scholder, S & Davey Smith, G & Lawlor, DA & Propper, C & Windmeijer, F, 2013. "Child height, health and human capital: evidence using genetic markers," Working Papers 5947, Imperial College, London, Imperial College Business School.
    • Handle: RePEc:imp:wpaper:5947
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    Cited by:

    1. Barban, Nicola & De Cao, Elisabetta & Oreffice, Sonia & Quintana-Domeque, Climent, 2021. "The effect of education on spousal education: A genetic approach," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    2. Amin, Vikesh & Fletcher, Jason M., 2022. "What is driving the relationship between height and cognition? Evidence from the Twins Early Development Study," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 47(C).
    3. Stephanie von Hinke Kessler Scholder & George Davey Smith & Debbie A. Lawlor & Carol Propper & Frank Windmeijer, 2011. "Mendelian randomization: the use of genes in instrumental variable analyses," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 20(8), pages 893-896, August.
    4. Lee, Wang-Sheng, 2014. "Big and Tall: Is there a Height Premium or Obesity Penalty in the Labor Market?," IZA Discussion Papers 8606, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Lange, Simon & von Werder, Marten, 2017. "Tracking and the intergenerational transmission of education: Evidence from a natural experiment," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 59-78.
    6. Jun Wang & Qihui Chen & Gang Chen & Yingxiang Li & Guoshu Kong & Chen Zhu, 2020. "What is creating the height premium? New evidence from a Mendelian randomization analysis in China," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(4), pages 1-20, April.
    7. Coffey, Stephanie & Schwartz, Amy Ellen, 2025. "Towering Intellects? Sizing up the relationship between height and academic success," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    8. Chen, Qihui, 2021. "Population policy, family size and child malnutrition in Vietnam – Testing the trade-off between child quantity and quality from a child nutrition perspective," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 41(C).
    9. Nicole Black & Sonja C. de New, 2020. "Short, Heavy and Underrated? Teacher Assessment Biases by Children's Body Size," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 82(5), pages 961-987, October.
    10. Fang, Muriel Zheng, 2014. "Violating the Monotonicity condition for instrumental variable—Dimorphic patterns of gene–behavior association," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 122(1), pages 59-63.
    11. von Hinke, Stephanie & Davey Smith, George & Lawlor, Debbie A. & Propper, Carol & Windmeijer, Frank, 2016. "Genetic markers as instrumental variables," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 131-148.
    12. Dawid Philip & Didelez Vanessa, 2012. ""Imagine a Can Opener"--The Magic of Principal Stratum Analysis," The International Journal of Biostatistics, De Gruyter, vol. 8(1), pages 1-12, July.
    13. Ludwig, Markus, 2013. "Youth Bulge and Mid-Life Moderation: Large Cohort Size Effects, Economic Perspectives and Civil Conflict in Sub-Saharan Africa," MPRA Paper 53088, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Dixon, Padraig & Hollingworth, William & Harrison, Sean & Davies, Neil M. & Davey Smith, George, 2020. "Mendelian Randomization analysis of the causal effect of adiposity on hospital costs," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    15. Stephanie Hinke Kessler Scholder & George L. Wehby & Sarah Lewis & Luisa Zuccolo, 2014. "Alcohol Exposure In Utero and Child Academic Achievement," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 0(576), pages 634-667, May.
    16. Kumari, Meena & Bao, Yanchun & S. Clarke, Paul & Smart, Melissa, 2018. "A comparison of robust methods for Mendelian randomization using multiple genetic variants," ISER Working Paper Series 2018-08, Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    17. von Hinke Kessler Scholder, Stephanie & Davey Smith, George & Lawlor, Debbie A. & Propper, Carol & Windmeijer, Frank, 2012. "The effect of fat mass on educational attainment: Examining the sensitivity to different identification strategies," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 10(4), pages 405-418.
    18. Böckerman, Petri & Viinikainen, Jutta & Vainiomäki, Jari & Hintsanen, Mirka & Pitkänen, Niina & Lehtimäki, Terho & Pehkonen, Jaakko & Rovio, Suvi & Raitakari, Olli, 2017. "Stature and long-term labor market outcomes: Evidence using Mendelian randomization," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 18-29.
    19. Padraig Dixon & George Davey Smith & Stephanie von Hinke & Neil M. Davies & William Hollingworth, 2016. "Estimating Marginal Healthcare Costs Using Genetic Variants as Instrumental Variables: Mendelian Randomization in Economic Evaluation," PharmacoEconomics, Springer, vol. 34(11), pages 1075-1086, November.
    20. Guven, Cahit & Lee, Wang-Sheng, 2015. "Height, aging and cognitive abilities across Europe," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 16(C), pages 16-29.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I1 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health
    • I2 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education

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