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The Heights of Europeans Since 1750: A New Source For European Economic History

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  • Roderick Floud
Abstract
Economic and social historians have traditionally been concerned to measure changes in the income and welfare of populations in the past.Until recently, however, they have not recognized that anthropometric data, such as evidence on the average height achieved by a population at a particular age, provide sensitive indicators of the average nutritional status of that population. Records of conscription into the armies of eleven European countries betweeen 1761 and 1975 provide 114 observations of mean height. Using 614 observations, the paper explores the relationship between mean height and other indicators of health and welfare, in particular the level of GDP per capita and the level of infant mortality. Western European heights are shown to have responded systematically over the past hundred years to changes in income and disease, just as heights in the modern world respond to similar changes today. Average height is powerful evidence of the nature and extent of economic development.

Suggested Citation

  • Roderick Floud, 1984. "The Heights of Europeans Since 1750: A New Source For European Economic History," NBER Working Papers 1318, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:1318
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. E. J. Hobsbawm, 1963. "The Standard of Living during the Industrial Revolution: A Discussion," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 16(1), pages 119-146, August.
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    Cited by:

    1. Richard H. Steckel, 1992. "Stature and Living Standards in the United States," NBER Chapters, in: American Economic Growth and Standards of Living before the Civil War, pages 265-310, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Bernard Harris, 2021. "Anthropometric history and the measurement of wellbeing," Vienna Yearbook of Population Research, Vienna Institute of Demography (VID) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna, vol. 19(1), pages 91-123.
    3. Roderick Floud & Kenneth W. Wachter & Annabel Gregory, 1985. "The Physical State of the British Working Class, 1870-1914: Evidence from Army Recruits," NBER Working Papers 1661, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. N. F. R. Crafts, 1997. "Some Dimensions of the ‘Quality of Life’ During the British Industrial Revolution," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 50(4), pages 617-639, November.
    5. David de la Croix, 2010. "Adult Longevity and Economic Take-off from Malthus to Ben-Porath," Chapters, in: Neri Salvadori (ed.), Institutional and Social Dynamics of Growth and Distribution, chapter 8, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    6. Bodenhorn, Howard & Guinnane, Timothy W. & Mroz, Thomas A., 2013. "Problems of Sample-Selection Bias in the Historical Heights Literature: A Theoretical and Econometric Analysis," Working Papers 114, Yale University, Department of Economics.
    7. David de la Croix & Omar Licandro, 2013. "The Child is Father Of the Man: Implications for the Demographic Transition," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 123(567), pages 236-261, March.
    8. 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.
    9. Howard Bodenhorn & Timothy Guinnane & Thomas Mroz, 2014. "Caveat Lector: Sample Selection in Historical Heights and the Interpretation of Early Industrializing Economies," NBER Working Papers 19955, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    10. Schneider, Ryan, 1996. "Historical note on height and parental consumption decisions," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 279-283, February.
    11. Nicholas, S. & Steckel, R., 1992. "Tall But Poor : Nutrition, Health and Living Standards in Pre-Famine Ireland," Papers 92-19, New South Wales - School of Economics.

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