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The biological standard of living in Indonesia during the 20th century: Evidence from the age at menarche

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  • van der Eng, Pierre
  • Sohn, Kitae

Abstract

This article analyses long-term changes in the mean age at menarche (MAM) as a biological indicator of changes in the standard of living in Indonesia. It finds that MAM was about 15.5 for birth cohorts in the late-19th century, decreasing to 14.5 by the 1930s, at which level it stagnated until the gradual decrease resumed since the early 1960s to around 12.5 in the mid-2000s. The article considers that long-term improvements in nutrition, educational attainment and health care explain these trends. An international comparison of long-term changes finds that MAM in Indonesia was much lower than in Korea and China until respectively 1970 and 1990, but comparable to Japan until 1950 and to Malaysia until 1930. The article presents reasons why these differences are unlikely to be related to dissimilarities in climate and ethnicity, and concludes that they are indicative of relative standards of living.

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  • van der Eng, Pierre & Sohn, Kitae, 2019. "The biological standard of living in Indonesia during the 20th century: Evidence from the age at menarche," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 216-224.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ehbiol:v:34:y:2019:i:c:p:216-224
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ehb.2018.11.004
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. van der Eng, Pierre, 2010. "The sources of long-term economic growth in Indonesia, 1880-2008," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 47(3), pages 294-309, July.
    2. van der Eng, Pierre, 2008. "Food Supply in Java during War and Decolonisation, 1940-1950," MPRA Paper 8852, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Jörg Baten & Mojgan Stegl & Pierre Eng, 2013. "The biological standard of living and body height in colonial and post-colonial Indonesia, 1770–2000," Journal of Bioeconomics, Springer, vol. 15(2), pages 103-122, July.
    4. John Komlos, "undated". "The Age at Menarche in Vienna: the Relationship between Nutrition and Fertility," Articles by John Komlos 29, Department of Economics, University of Munich.
    5. Leandro Prados de la Escosura, 2015. "World Human Development: 1870–2007," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 61(2), pages 220-247, June.
    6. Pierre van der Eng & Kitae Sohn, 2018. "The Biological Standard of Living in China during the 20th Century: Evidence from the Age at Menarche," CEH Discussion Papers 10, Centre for Economic History, Research School of Economics, Australian National University.
    7. Nicole Mellington & Lisa Cameron, 1999. "Female Education and Child Mortality in Indonesia," Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 35(3), pages 115-144.
    8. BASSINO, Jean-Pascal & van der ENG, Pierre, 2016. "Asia's 'Little Divergence' in the 20th Century: Evidence from PPP-based direct estimates of GDP per capita, 1913-1969," Discussion paper series HIAS-E-28, Hitotsubashi Institute for Advanced Study, Hitotsubashi University.
    9. Peter McDonald, 2014. "The Demography of Indonesia in Comparative Perspective," Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(1), pages 29-52, April.
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    Cited by:

    1. Ogasawara, Kota & Inoue, Tatsuki, 2021. "The long-run heterogeneous effects of a cholera pandemic on stature: Evidence from industrializing Japan," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 41(C).
    2. Pierre van der Eng, 2024. "Mortality from the 1944-1945 famine in Java, Indonesia," CEH Discussion Papers 01, Centre for Economic History, Research School of Economics, Australian National University.
    3. Pierre van der Eng, 2023. "Mortality from the influenza pandemic of 1918-19 in Indonesia," Departmental Working Papers 2023-06, The Australian National University, Arndt-Corden Department of Economics.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Living standards; Human growth; Menarche; Indonesia; Asia;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General Welfare, Well-Being
    • N15 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Industrial Structure; Growth; Fluctuations - - - Asia including Middle East
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration

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