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Physical stature of men in eighteenth century Mexico: Evidence from Puebla

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  • Grajales-Porras, Agustín
  • López-Alonso, Moramay

Abstract

We present a first glimpse of the mean height of men in eighteenth century Mexico based on evidence from the Revillagigedo Census of 1791-1792. Mexican men were shorter than those of Europe and North America. For example, contemporary French men were about 165Â cm and US men were about 174Â cm; in contrast, Mexican men were about 162Â cm. Men of higher income were taller than those in the middle and lower income strata. Mestizos (a mix of whites and Indians) were shorter than the rest of the recruits belonging to other ethnic categories.

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  • Grajales-Porras, Agustín & López-Alonso, Moramay, 2011. "Physical stature of men in eighteenth century Mexico: Evidence from Puebla," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 9(3), pages 265-271, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ehbiol:v:9:y:2011:i:3:p:265-271
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Lopez-Alonso, Moramay & Condey, Raul Porras, 2003. "The ups and downs of Mexican economic growth: the biological standard of living and inequality, 1870-1950," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 1(2), pages 169-186, June.
    2. Steckel, Richard H., 2009. "Heights and human welfare: Recent developments and new directions," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 46(1), pages 1-23, January.
    3. Baten, Joerg & Pelger, Ines & Twrdek, Linda, 2009. "The anthropometric history of Argentina, Brazil and Peru during the 19th and early 20th century," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 7(3), pages 319-333, December.
    4. Komlos, John, 1998. "Shrinking in a Growing Economy? The Mystery of Physical Stature during the Industrial Revolution," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 58(03), pages 779-802, September.
    5. Salvatore, Ricardo D., 2007. "Heights, Nutrition, and Well-Being in Argentina, ca. 1850–1950. Preliminary Results," Revista de Historia Económica / Journal of Iberian and Latin American Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 25(1), pages 53-85, January.
    6. Salvatore, Ricardo D., 2004. "Stature decline and recovery in a food-rich export economy: Argentina 1900-1934," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 41(3), pages 233-255, July.
    7. Richard H. Steckel, 1995. "Stature and the Standard of Living," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 33(4), pages 1903-1940, December.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Núñez, Javier & Pérez, Graciela, 2015. "Trends in physical stature across socioeconomic groups of Chilean boys, 1880–1997," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 16(C), pages 100-114.
    3. Dobado-González, Rafael & Garcia-Hiernaux, Alfredo, 2017. "Two worlds apart: Determinants of height in late 18th century central Mexico," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 153-163.
    4. Manuel Llorca-Jaña & Juan Navarrete-Montalvo & Roberto Araya-Valenzuela & Federico Droller & Martina Allende & Javier Rivas, 2021. "Height in twentieth-century Chilean men: growth with divergence," Cliometrica, Journal of Historical Economics and Econometric History, Association Française de Cliométrie (AFC), vol. 15(1), pages 135-166, January.
    5. Llorca-Jaña, Manuel & Clarke, Damian & Navarrete-Montalvo, Juan & Araya-Valenzuela, Roberto & Allende, Martina, 2020. "New anthropometric evidence on living standards in nineteenth-century Chile," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 36(C).
    6. Javier Núñez & Graciela Pérez, 2021. "The Escape from Malnutrition of Chilean Boys and Girls: Height-for-Age Z Scores in Late XIX and XX Centuries," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(19), pages 1-20, October.

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