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Bones of Contention: The Political Economy of Height Inequality

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  • BOIX, CARLES
  • ROSENBLUTH, FRANCES

Abstract

Human osteological data provide a rich, still-to-be-mined source of information about the distribution of nutrition and, by extension, the distribution of political power and economic wealth in societies of long ago. On the basis of data we have collected and analyzed on societies ranging from foraging communities to the ancient Egyptian and modern European monarchies, we find that the shift from hunting and gathering to complex fishing techniques and to labor-intensive agriculture opened up inequalities that had discernible effects on human health and stature. But we also find that political institutions intervened decisively in the distribution of resources within societies. Political institutions appear to be shaped not only by economic factors but also by military technology and vulnerability to invasion.

Suggested Citation

  • Boix, Carles & Rosenbluth, Frances, 2014. "Bones of Contention: The Political Economy of Height Inequality," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 108(1), pages 1-22, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:apsrev:v:108:y:2014:i:01:p:1-22_00
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    Cited by:

    1. Fix, Blair, 2021. "Living the Good Life in a Non-Growth World. Investigating the Role of Hierarchy," Working Papers on Capital as Power 2021/02, Capital As Power - Toward a New Cosmology of Capitalism.
    2. Batinti, Alberto & Costa-Font, Joan, 2022. "Does democracy make taller men? Cross-country European evidence," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 113745, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    3. Athey, Susan & Calvano, Emilio & Jha, Saumitra, 2016. "A Theory of Community Formation and Social Hierarchy," Research Papers 3467, Stanford University, Graduate School of Business.
    4. Fix, Blair, 2017. "Evidence for a Power Theory of Personal Income Distribution," SocArXiv qgwus, Center for Open Science.
    5. Batinti, Alberto & Costa-Font, Joan, 2022. "Does democracy make taller men? Cross-country European evidence," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 45(C).
    6. Fix, Blair, 2017. "Evidence for a Power Theory of Personal Income Distribution," Working Papers on Capital as Power 2017/03, Capital As Power - Toward a New Cosmology of Capitalism.
    7. Meinzer, Nicholas J., 2017. "Social mobility in the early middle ages," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 111-120.
    8. Wroński, Marcin, 2023. "The full distribution of adult height in Poland: Cohorts born between 1920 and 1996. The biological cost of the economic transition," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 50(C).
    9. Fix, Blair, 2019. "Energy, Hierarchy and the Origin of Inequality," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 14(4, April), pages 1-32.
    10. Fix, Blair, 2021. "Living the good life in a non-growth world: Investigating the role of hierarchy," SocArXiv wem9p, Center for Open Science.
    11. D. Y. Jayasinghe & C. L. Jayasinghe, 2022. "An Investigation into Adult Human Height Distributions Using Kernel Density Estimation," Sankhya B: The Indian Journal of Statistics, Springer;Indian Statistical Institute, vol. 84(1), pages 79-105, May.
    12. Blair Fix, 2019. "Energy, hierarchy and the origin of inequality," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(4), pages 1-32, April.

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