Height as a Proxy for Cognitive and Non-Cognitive Ability /

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-w...

Ausführliche Beschreibung

Gespeichert in:
1. Verfasser:
Schick, Andreas
Körperschaft:
National Bureau of Economic Research
Weitere Verfasser:
Steckel, Richard H.
Format:
Elektronisch E-Book
Sprache:
Englisch
Veröffentlicht:
Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2010.
Zusammenfassung:
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.
Umfang:
1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);
Anmerkungen:
December 2010.
Schlagworte: