Decomposing the effect of height on income in China: The role of market and political channels

Yamamura, Eiji; Smyth, Russell; Zhang, Yan

doi:10.1016/j.ehb.2015.08.003

Cited by 23 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…Disentangling that effect is complicated since workers likely self-select into occupations that reward their skills (Case et al, 2009) and taller, stronger workers are also likely to have better cognitive skills (Vogl, 2014). It is possible that height is a signal of worker quality or used as a screening device by employers or customers (Sohn 2015; Yamamura, Smyth and Zhang, 2015). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Height and cognition at work: Labor market productivity in a low income setting

LaFave

Thomas

2017

Economics & Human Biology

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Taller workers earn more, particularly in lower income settings. It has been argued that adult height is a marker of strength which is rewarded in the labor market; a proxy for cognitive performance or other dimensions of human capital such as school quality; a proxy for health status; and a proxy for family background and genetic characteristics. As a result, the argument goes, height is rewarded in the labor market because it is an informative signal of worker quality to an employer. It has also been argued that the height premium is driven by occupational and sectoral choice. This paper evaluates the relative importance of these potential mechanisms underlying the link between adult stature and labor market productivity in a specific low income setting, rural Central Java, Indonesia. Drawing on twelve waves of longitudinal survey data, we establish that height predicts hourly earnings after controlling education, multiple indicators of cognitive performance and physical health status, measures of family background, sectoral and occupational choice, as well as local area market characteristics. The height premium is large and significant in both the wage and self-employed sectors indicating height is not only a signal of worker quality to employers. Since adult stature is largely determined in the first few years of life, we conclude that exposures during this critical period have an enduring impact on labor market productivity.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“… 1 See, among others: Behrman et al (2013), Case and Paxson (2008a, 2008b), Gao and Smyth (2010), Hoddinott et al (2008), Lundborg et al (2014), Persico et al (2004), Sohn (2015), Thomas and Frankenberg (2002), Thomas and Strauss (1997), Yamamura, Smuth and Zhand (2015) and Vogl (2014). …”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Height and cognition at work: Labor market productivity in a low income setting

LaFave

Thomas

2017

Economics & Human Biology

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“…This empirical finding has been documented in several studies. There are three main explanations for the labor market premium in height (e.g., Sargent and Blanchflower, 1994;Judge et al, 2004;Persico et al, 2004;Case and Paxson, 2008;Tao, 2014;Sohn, 2015;Yamamura et al, 2015). 1 First, height is associated with cognitive skills (Case and Paxson, 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stature and long-term labor market outcomes: Evidence using Mendelian randomization

Böckerman

Viinikainen

Vainiomäki

et al. 2017

Economics & Human Biology

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We use the Young Finns Study (N=∼2000) on the measured height linked to register-based long-term labor market outcomes. The data contain six age cohorts (ages 3, 6, 9, 12, 15 and 18, in 1980) with the average age of 31.7, in 2001, and with the female share of 54.7. We find that taller people earn higher earnings according to the ordinary least squares (OLS) estimation. The OLS models show that 10cm of extra height is associated with 13% higher earnings. We use Mendelian randomization, with the genetic score as an instrumental variable (IV) for height to account for potential confounders that are related to socioeconomic background, early life conditions and parental investments, which are otherwise very difficult to fully account for when using covariates in observational studies. The IV point estimate is much lower and not statistically significant, suggesting that the OLS estimation provides an upward biased estimate for the height premium. Our results show the potential value of using genetic information to gain new insights into the determinants of long-term labor market success.

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“…Height is also shown to be associated with cognition (Case and Paxson, 2010) as well as with non-cognitive traits such as confidence (Persico et al, 2004). Finally, there is evidence that taller workers earn more (Persico et al, 2004), a fact that also might be explained by the finding that employers appear to be using height as a screening device (Yamamura et al, 2015).…”

Section: Related Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

Transition, Height and Well-Being

et al. 2019

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Decomposing the effect of height on income in China: The role of market and political channels

Cited by 23 publications

References 43 publications

Height and cognition at work: Labor market productivity in a low income setting

Height and cognition at work: Labor market productivity in a low income setting

Stature and long-term labor market outcomes: Evidence using Mendelian randomization

Transition, Height and Well-Being

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