Does physical capacity explain the height premium?

Böckerman, Petri and Johansson, Edvard and Kiiskinen, Urpo and Heliövaara, Markku (2010): Does physical capacity explain the height premium?

Abstract

The paper examines the role of physical capacity in the determination of the height premium by using the “Health 2000 in Finland” data that contain both self-reported information on the physical strenuousness of work, and information on muscle mass from medical examinations. Our results show that the height premium does not vary according to the physical strenuousness of work. We also find that muscle mass is not related to wages. Furthermore, we observe that the shortest men do physically very demanding work and the tallest do sedentary work, even after controlling for the effects of age and education.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Height; Height premium; Body composition; Wages
• Subjects: J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J3 - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs > J31 - Wage Level and Structure ; Wage Differentials; J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J2 - Demand and Supply of Labor > J23 - Labor Demand; I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I1 - Health > I10 - General

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