Full Citation

Title: Sample-Selection Bias and Height Trends in the Nineteenth-Century United States

Citation Type: Working Paper

Publication Year: 2018

ISBN:

ISSN:

DOI: 10.3386/w24815

NSFID:

PMCID:

PMID:

Abstract: After adjusting for sample-selection bias, I find a net decline in average stature of 0.64 inches in the birth cohorts of 1832--1860 in the US. This result supports the veracity of the Antebellum Puzzle—a deterioration of health during early modern economic growth in the US. However, this adjustment alters the trend in average stature, validating concerns over bias in the historical heights literature. The adjustment is based on census-linked military height data and uses a two-step semi-parametric sample-selection model to adjust for selection on observables and unobservables.

Url: http://www.nber.org/papers/w24815.pdf

User Submitted?: No

Authors: Zimran, Ariell

Series Title: NBER Working Paper Series

Publication Number: 24815

Institution: National Bureau of Economic Research

Pages: 32

Publisher Location: Cambridge, MA

Data Collections: IPUMS USA, IPUMS NHGIS

Topics: Fertility and Mortality, Other

Countries: