Why are some countries richer than others? Modern growth theories assign a pivotal role to human capital accumulation, particularly in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Unfortunately, testing this conjecture is relatively impractical due to data limitations. Standard human capital measures, such as cognitive test scores and years of schooling, are generally unavailable, while more data-abundant alternatives, such as literacy rates, poorly proxy human capital. To mitigate this problem, this thesis presents evidence that adult height is a relatively suitable proxy for human capital. Using data from the early and late twentieth century, I show that taller individuals and populations were, and still are, substantially more productive than their shorter counterparts. Furthermore, my results attribute this outcome to the significant association between adult height and both cognitive and non-cognitive abilities.
Chapter 1 studies the contemporary pathways through which taller workers earn more than their shorter counterparts. Earlier studies attribute this “stature premium” to non-cognitive abilities, which are associated with height and rewarded in the labor market. While more recent research suggests that cognitive abilities cause the stature-wage relationship. This paper reconciles the competing views by recognizing that net nutrition, a major determinant of adult height, is integral to cognitive and non-cognitive development. Using contemporary British data from the National Childhood Development Study (NCDS), I show that taller children have higher average cognitive and non-cognitive test scores, and that each aptitude accounts for a substantial and roughly equal portion of the stature premium. Together, cognitive and non-cognitive abilities explain the height premium.
Chapter 2 examines the pathways contributing to the stature premium in a historical labor market, early twentieth century Canada. The literature proposes two pathways with which stature promoted productivity in the past. First, height contributed to productivity via its direct association with various physical abilities, such as strength, endurance and motor skill. Second, the contemporary pathways attribute the stature premium to cognitive and non-cognitive abilities. To test these arguments, I construct a linked Canadian data set that matches men across their 1891 and 1911 census manuscripts and World War I registration papers. I show that taller workers earned substantially more than their shorter counterparts. Furthermore, the results indicate that only cognitive and non-cognitive abilities provide a substantial contribution to the stature premium.
Chapter 3 presents evidence that national health provides an independent causal contribution to economic growth. Good health is thought to promote national productivity via its correlation with physical capacity and human capital accumulation. To test these claims, I construct a cross-country data set covering 45 countries in 1960 to 2000. I measure a nation’s health status using a standard proxy: the average adult height among its prime-age men. I show that taller populations are substantially more productive than their shorter counterparts, and that this result is due, in large part, to a strong correlation between adult height and accumulating human capital.