Stature, Skills and Adult Life Outcomes: Evidence from Indonesia

Abstract

ACL-2International audienceWe investigate the effect of height on earnings, occupational choices and a subjective measure of wellbeing among Indonesian men. We explore the extent to which height captures the effects of endowments set before entry in the labour market. Physical and cognitive skills, co-determined with stature early in life, do not explain much of the height earnings premium directly. Yet, human capital more broadly, including cognition, educational attainment and other factors related to childhood conditions, explains around half of the height premium and does so through occupational sorting. Indeed, taller workers tend to have more education, and educated workers tend to work in more lucrative occupations that require brain and social skills, not brawn. The unexplained share of the height earnings premium may reflect a specific role of stature on social interaction, labour market advantages or self-assurance. We also find a height premium in happiness, half of which simply accounts for the educational and earnings advantages of taller workers

Height and life satisfaction: Evidence from 27 nations

“…Among the relatively few studies conducted in developing countries, Lee and Zhao () found that in China, height is associated with higher life satisfaction only among migrants from rural to urban areas, while the effect is not significant for individuals residing in urban or rural areas. In contrast, Bargain and Zeidan () reported a positive effect of height on life satisfaction in Indonesia.…”

“…Since then the determinants of human height have been the subject of increased interest by social scientists (Borrescio‐Higa, Bozzolib, & Drollerc, ). The reason is that height is an important predictor of earnings (Böckerman & Vainiomäki, ; Case & Paxson, , ; Cinnirella & Winter, ), job productivity (Bargain & Zeidan, ; Lee & Zhao, ), health (Lundborg, Nystedt, & Rooth, ; Perelman, ; Whitley, Rasmussen, Tynelius, & Batty, ), human capital (LaFave & Thomas, ), cognitive and non‐cognitive social skills (Benz & Frey, ; Rietveld et al, ; van Praag & Ferrer‐i‐Carbonell, ), as well as marriage and career successes (Janson et al, ; Lindqvist, ; Pollet & Nettle, ; Stulp, Buunk, Verhulst, & Pollet, ).…”

“…A second channel is the labor market. Height is positively associated with better labor market outcomes insofar as taller individuals are more productive due to their greater levels of physical strength (Bargain & Zeidan, ; Lee & Zhao, ; Pitt, Rosenzweig, & Hassan, ). Furthermore, taller individuals possess higher levels of cognitive, non‐cognitive, and social skills, as well as intelligence (Case & Paxson, , ; Cinnirella & Winter, ; Persico, Postlewaite, & Silverman, ).…”

“…Taller people are considered more attractive, which is in turn associated with higher levels of self‐esteem, positive mood, and positive social interactions (Carrieri & De Paola, ; Judge & Cable, ). Consequently, taller people are more competitive in the marriage market (Bargain & Zeidan, ; Batty et al, 2006). Taller people have lower divorce rates and higher rates of reproductive success (Janson et al, ; Pollet & Nettle, ).…”

Unfortunate Moms and Unfortunate Children: Impact of the Nepali Civil War on Women's Stature and Intergenerational Health

“…These results are important given increasing evidence of the lasting impacts of stunting and slow growth in height early in life on overall physical, biological and cognitive development, school achievement, economic productivity and maternal reproductive outcomes (see review by Dewey and Begum, 2011). Additionally, given the established literature on the existence of a height premium (Persico et al, 2004;Case and Paxson, 2008;Vogl, 2014;Bargain and Zeidan, 2017), these results have important economic importance.…”