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The Tall and the Short of the Returns to Height

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  • Michael Baker
  • Kirsten Cornelson

Abstract

We revisit the US evidence of the association of height with socioeconomic status. We document non linear height profiles that are different for males and females. For males the profile is a spline function with a single node at mean height. Below mean height there is a sharply positive slope with height, while the function is roughly horizontal above the mean. For females the spline has two nodes. There is positive slope below mean height and in the top 10 percent of heights, and the profile is roughly horizontal between the mean and the 90th percentile. Remarkably, these stylized profiles describe the association of height with socioeconomic outcomes ranging from teenage cognitive scores to adult poverty, suggesting a common origin. We investigate some of the implications of these findings for analyses of the contributions of cognitive and non cognitive skills to the height profile in wages.

Suggested Citation

  • Michael Baker & Kirsten Cornelson, 2019. "The Tall and the Short of the Returns to Height," NBER Working Papers 26325, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:26325
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I3 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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