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Why Does Height Pay? Evidence from the Kenya Life Panel Survey

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  • Wilson King
  • Edward Miguel
  • Michael W. Walker

Abstract

Taller people earn more, especially in low- and middle-income countries. We present among the first evidence of this phenomenon in Africa, using longitudinal microdata on a cohort of middle-aged Kenyan adults. We document a substantial height/earnings premium: controlling for gender, age, and other socio-demographics, monthly earnings increase by 1.07% per centimeter (or 2.72% per inch). Nearly half this effect can be explained by differences in cognition, measured from an unusually rich battery containing 27 modules. Additional shares of the premium can be attributed to measures of physical strength and non-cognitive ability. In contrast to prior work, we find little role for occupational sorting: conditional on cognitive and non-cognitive ability, taller people do not appear more likely to work in higher paid sectors. Leveraging repeated measures of height and an instrumental variables specification, we find suggestive evidence that measurement error may be attenuating the estimated relationship.

Suggested Citation

  • Wilson King & Edward Miguel & Michael W. Walker, 2026. "Why Does Height Pay? Evidence from the Kenya Life Panel Survey," NBER Working Papers 34769, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:34769
    Note: DEV EH LS
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    JEL classification:

    • I15 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Economic Development
    • J1 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics
    • O11 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Macroeconomic Analyses of Economic Development

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