Height as a proxy for cognitive and non-cognitive ability
By: Andreas Schick, Richard H. Steckel
Contributors: Steckel, Richard H. (Richard Hall), 1944-; National Bureau of Economic Research
Series: NBER working paper series -- working paper 16570; Working paper series (National Bureau of Economic Research : Online) -- working paper no. 16570.
Publisher: National Bureau of Economic Research
Published: 2010
Place of publication: Cambridge, MA
Language: eng
Format: Electronic resource
Description: "Taller workers receive a substantial wage premium.  Studies extending back to the middle of the last century attribute the premium to non-cognitive abilities, which are associated with stature and rewarded in the labor market.  More recent research argues that cognitive abilities explain the stature-wage relationship.  This paper reconciles the competing views by recognizing that net nutrition, a major determinant of adult height, is integral to our cognitive and non-cognitive development.  Using data from Britain's National Childhood Development Study (NCDS), we show that taller children have higher average cognitive and non-cognitive test scores, and that each aptitude accounts for a substantial and roughly equal portion of the stature premium.  Together these abilities explain why taller people have higher wages"--National Bureau of Economic Research web site.
Notes: Title from PDF file as viewed on 3/29/2011.

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