- The Oxford Handbook of Economics and Human Biology
- About the Editors
- Contributors
- Introduction
- Growth Faltering in the First Thousand Days after Conception and Catch-up Growth
- Biological Measures of Well-Being
- Crisis and Human Biology
- The Biological Standard of Living in Europe from the Late Iron Age to the Little Ice Age
- Econometrics of Economics and Human Biology
- Body Mass Index Through Time: Explanations, Evidence, and Future Directions
- Health, Body Weight, and Obesity
- Inequality and Heights
- Adult Weight and Height of Native Populations
- Slave Heights
- Female Heights and Economic Development: Theory and Evidence
- The Impact of Socioeconomic Inequality on Children’s Health and Well-Being
- Growth and Maturation of Children and Adolescents: Variability Due to Genetic and Environmental Factors
- Global Perspectives on Economics and Biology
- Global BMI Trends
- Poverty and Obesity in Developed Countries
- Biomarkers as Inputs
- How Genetics Can Inform Health Economics
- Twins Studies in Economics
- Public and Private Returns to Investing in Nutrition
- The Double Burden of Malnutrition
- Biological Health Risks and Economic Development
- Obesity and Income Inequality in OECD Countries
- Height and Wages
- Why Do People with Higher Body Weight Earn Lower Wages?
- Wealth and Weight
- Family Economics and Obesity
- Obesity and Welfare Regimes
- Children’s Anthropometrics and Later Disease Incidence
- Birth Weight as an Indicator of Human Welfare
- A Pound of Flesh: The Use of Birthweight as a Measure of Human Capital Endowment in Economics Research
- Neuroeconomics: A Flourishing Field
- The African Enigma: The Mystery of Tall African Adults Despite Low National Incomes Revisited
- East Asia on the Rise: The Anthropometric History of China, Japan, and Korea
- Economics and Human Biology in Latin America
- Racial Differences in Health in the United States: A Long-Run Perspective
- Antebellum Puzzle: The Decline in Heights at the Onset of Modern Economic Growth
- The Anthropometric History of the Mediterranean World
- Index
Abstract and Keywords
This chapter documents human development in the very long run on the basis of anthropometric indicators used as a proxy measure of the biological standard of living. The author explores the trend in height of European populations, controlling for aspects of natural, economic, and social change. Findings include that there was a small increase in overall mean height in Europe from the 8th century BCE to the 18th century CE (c. 0.5 cm per millennium on average for the total dataset), with regional and temporal variations, including particular low points during Roman ascendancy (1st century BCE in Mediterranean Europe, 8 cm below the predicted mean) and the Little Ice Age (17th century CE in North-Eastern Europe, 7 cm below the predicted mean). Significant explanatory variables for these trends are the availability of dairy products, the share of the population living in urban areas, and the impact of the Roman Empire.
Keywords: biological standard of living, Late Iron Age, Little Ice Age, Roman Empire, height trends, European population, human development
Researcher at the Institute of Evolutionary Medicine, University of Zurich
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- The Oxford Handbook of Economics and Human Biology
- About the Editors
- Contributors
- Introduction
- Growth Faltering in the First Thousand Days after Conception and Catch-up Growth
- Biological Measures of Well-Being
- Crisis and Human Biology
- The Biological Standard of Living in Europe from the Late Iron Age to the Little Ice Age
- Econometrics of Economics and Human Biology
- Body Mass Index Through Time: Explanations, Evidence, and Future Directions
- Health, Body Weight, and Obesity
- Inequality and Heights
- Adult Weight and Height of Native Populations
- Slave Heights
- Female Heights and Economic Development: Theory and Evidence
- The Impact of Socioeconomic Inequality on Children’s Health and Well-Being
- Growth and Maturation of Children and Adolescents: Variability Due to Genetic and Environmental Factors
- Global Perspectives on Economics and Biology
- Global BMI Trends
- Poverty and Obesity in Developed Countries
- Biomarkers as Inputs
- How Genetics Can Inform Health Economics
- Twins Studies in Economics
- Public and Private Returns to Investing in Nutrition
- The Double Burden of Malnutrition
- Biological Health Risks and Economic Development
- Obesity and Income Inequality in OECD Countries
- Height and Wages
- Why Do People with Higher Body Weight Earn Lower Wages?
- Wealth and Weight
- Family Economics and Obesity
- Obesity and Welfare Regimes
- Children’s Anthropometrics and Later Disease Incidence
- Birth Weight as an Indicator of Human Welfare
- A Pound of Flesh: The Use of Birthweight as a Measure of Human Capital Endowment in Economics Research
- Neuroeconomics: A Flourishing Field
- The African Enigma: The Mystery of Tall African Adults Despite Low National Incomes Revisited
- East Asia on the Rise: The Anthropometric History of China, Japan, and Korea
- Economics and Human Biology in Latin America
- Racial Differences in Health in the United States: A Long-Run Perspective
- Antebellum Puzzle: The Decline in Heights at the Onset of Modern Economic Growth
- The Anthropometric History of the Mediterranean World
- Index
