Stature, Living Standards, and Economic Development
Essays in Anthropometric History
264 pages
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24 line drawings, 6 maps
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6 x 9
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© 1994
What can body measurements tell us about living standards in the past? In this collection of essays studying height and weight data from eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century Europe, North America, and Asia, fourteen distinguished scholars explore the relation between physical size, economic development, and standard of living among various socioeconomic groups.
Analyzing the differences in physical stature by social group, gender, age, provenance, and date and place of birth, these essays illuminate urban and rural differences in well-being, explore the effects of market integration on previously agricultural societies, contrast the experiences of several segments of society, and explain the proximate causes of downturns and upswings in well-being. Particularly intriguing is the researchers' conclusion that the environment of the New World during this period was far more propitious than that of Europe, based on data showing that European aristocrats were in worse health than even the poorest members of American society.
Analyzing the differences in physical stature by social group, gender, age, provenance, and date and place of birth, these essays illuminate urban and rural differences in well-being, explore the effects of market integration on previously agricultural societies, contrast the experiences of several segments of society, and explain the proximate causes of downturns and upswings in well-being. Particularly intriguing is the researchers' conclusion that the environment of the New World during this period was far more propitious than that of Europe, based on data showing that European aristocrats were in worse health than even the poorest members of American society.
Contents
Preface by John Komlos
Introduction: Growth in Height as a Mirror of the Standard of Living, James M. Tanner
1: The Heights of Europeans since 1750: A New Source for European Economic History
Roderick Floud
2: The Height of Schoolchildren in Britain, 1900-1950
Bernard Harris
3: The Heights of the British and the Irish c. 1800-1815: Evidence from Recruits to the East India Company's Army
Joel Mokyr, Cormac O Grada.
4: The Standard of Living in Scotland, 1800-1850
Paul Riggs
5: Stature, Welfare, and Economic Growth in Nineteenth-Century Spain: The Case of Murcia
Jose M. Martinez Carrion
6: The Height of Runaway Slaves in Colonial America, 1720-1770
John Komlos
7: Health and Nutrition in the American Midwest: Evidence from the Height of Ohio National Guardsmen, 1850-1910
Richard H. Steckel, Donald R. Haurin.
8: How Severe was the Great Depression? Evidence from the Pittsburgh Region
Jialu Wu
9: Heights and Health in the United States, 1710-1950
Richard H. Steckel
10: The Level of Living in Japan, 1885-1938: New Evidence
Ted Shay
Comment, Stanley Engerman
On the Significance of Anthropometric History, John Komlos
Bibliography
Contributors
Index
Introduction: Growth in Height as a Mirror of the Standard of Living, James M. Tanner
1: The Heights of Europeans since 1750: A New Source for European Economic History
Roderick Floud
2: The Height of Schoolchildren in Britain, 1900-1950
Bernard Harris
3: The Heights of the British and the Irish c. 1800-1815: Evidence from Recruits to the East India Company's Army
Joel Mokyr, Cormac O Grada.
4: The Standard of Living in Scotland, 1800-1850
Paul Riggs
5: Stature, Welfare, and Economic Growth in Nineteenth-Century Spain: The Case of Murcia
Jose M. Martinez Carrion
6: The Height of Runaway Slaves in Colonial America, 1720-1770
John Komlos
7: Health and Nutrition in the American Midwest: Evidence from the Height of Ohio National Guardsmen, 1850-1910
Richard H. Steckel, Donald R. Haurin.
8: How Severe was the Great Depression? Evidence from the Pittsburgh Region
Jialu Wu
9: Heights and Health in the United States, 1710-1950
Richard H. Steckel
10: The Level of Living in Japan, 1885-1938: New Evidence
Ted Shay
Comment, Stanley Engerman
On the Significance of Anthropometric History, John Komlos
Bibliography
Contributors
Index
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