IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/exehis/v67y2018icp152-162.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

‘Tall and lithe’–The wage-height premium in the Victorian and Edwardian British railway industry

Author

Listed:
  • Anderson, Peter

Abstract

Studies in anthropometrics continue to find a wage-height premium in modern economies despite most productivity not contingent on physical strength. These authors argue that height is a proxy for cognitive and non-cognitive abilities, which earns the positive return. In this paper, I collected data on over 2,200 English and Welsh railwaymen from staff ledgers to test if the same relationship held during the Victorian and Edwardian period. Using an OLS model, it is found that a wage-height premium existed. Applying the same model to different subgroups of railwaymen, it was found that the premium only accrued to taller men working in skilled grades that required a higher cognitive and non-cognitive skill to strength ratio. No such premium existed in the physically taxing entry-level railway grades. A probit regression finds that taller Great Western signalmen working in Wales did not have a lower probability of receiving a fine upon committing an infraction; a finding that contradicts heightism as an explanation of the wage-height premium. I conclude that taller railwaymen benefited because height indirectly measured their cognitive and non-cognitive abilities, not their strength.

Suggested Citation

  • Anderson, Peter, 2018. "‘Tall and lithe’–The wage-height premium in the Victorian and Edwardian British railway industry," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 152-162.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:exehis:v:67:y:2018:i:c:p:152-162
    DOI: 10.1016/j.eeh.2017.12.001
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0014498317300955
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.eeh.2017.12.001?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. repec:pri:rpdevs:case_paxson_cog_function_additional.pdf is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Peter Wardley, 1999. "The Emergence of Big Business: The Largest Corporate Employers of Labour in the United Kingdom, Germany and the United States c. 1907," Business History, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(4), pages 88-116.
    3. Carlos Bozzoli & Angus Deaton & Climent Quintana-Domeque, 2009. "Adult height and childhood disease," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 46(4), pages 647-669, November.
    4. Anne Case & Christina Paxson, 2008. "Height, Health, and Cognitive Function at Older Ages," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 98(2), pages 463-467, May.
    5. James J. Heckman & Jora Stixrud & Sergio Urzua, 2006. "The Effects of Cognitive and Noncognitive Abilities on Labor Market Outcomes and Social Behavior," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 24(3), pages 411-482, July.
    6. Andreas Schick & Richard H. Steckel, 2015. "Height, Human Capital, and Earnings: The Contributions of Cognitive and Noncognitive Ability," Journal of Human Capital, University of Chicago Press, vol. 9(1), pages 94-115.
    7. Anne Case & Christina Paxson, 2008. "Stature and Status: Height, Ability, and Labor Market Outcomes," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 116(3), pages 499-532, June.
    8. repec:pri:rpdevs:case_paxson_cog_function_additional is not listed on IDEAS
    9. Melissa Osborne & Herbert Gintis & Samuel Bowles, 2001. "The Determinants of Earnings: A Behavioral Approach," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 39(4), pages 1137-1176, December.
    10. Humphries, Jane & Leunig, Timothy, 2009. "Was Dick Whittington taller than those he left behind? Anthropometric measures, migration and the quality of life in early nineteenth century London?," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 46(1), pages 120-131, January.
    11. repec:pri:rpdevs:case_paxson_height_health_and_cognitive_function.pdf is not listed on IDEAS
    12. Peter Howlett, 2000. "Evidence of the Existence of an Internal Labour Market in the Great Eastern Railway Company, 1875-1905," Business History, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(1), pages 21-40.
    13. Peter Howlett, 2004. "The internal labour dynamics of the Great Eastern Railway Company, 1870–1913," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 57(2), pages 396-422, May.
    14. repec:pri:cheawb:case_paxson_height_health_and_cognitive_function is not listed on IDEAS
    15. repec:pri:rpdevs:case_paxson_height_health_and_cognitive_function is not listed on IDEAS
    16. Petter Lundborg & Paul Nystedt & Dan-Olof Rooth, 2014. "Height and Earnings: The Role of Cognitive and Noncognitive Skills," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 49(1), pages 141-166.
    17. Eichengreen, Barry & Gemery, Henry A., 1986. "The Earnings of Skilled and Unskilled Immigrants at the End of the Nineteenth Century," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 46(2), pages 441-454, June.
    18. Schofield, R. S., 1973. "Dimensions of illiteracy, 1750-1850," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 10(4), pages 437-454.
    19. Thomas, Duncan & Strauss, John, 1997. "Health and wages: Evidence on men and women in urban Brazil," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 77(1), pages 159-185, March.
    20. Alberto Palloni, 2006. "Reproducing inequalities: Luck, wallets, and the enduring effects of childhood health," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 43(4), pages 587-615, November.
    21. Boyer, George R. & Hatton, Timothy J., 2002. "New Estimates Of British Unemployment, 1870–1913," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 62(3), pages 643-675, September.
    22. Matthews, R. C. O. & Feinstein, C. H. & Odling-Smee, J., 1982. "British Economic Growth 1856-1973: The Post-War Period in Historical Perspective," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198284536.
    23. Croppenstedt, Andre & Muller, Christophe, 2000. "The Impact of Farmers' Health and Nutritional Status on Their Productivity and Efficiency: Evidence from Ethiopia," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 48(3), pages 475-502, April.
    24. Nicholas Crafts & Timothy Leunig & Abay Mulatu, 2011. "Corrigendum: Were British railway companies well managed in the early twentieth century?," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 64(1), pages 351-356, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Carlo Ciccarelli & Matteo Gomellini & Paolo Sestito, 2019. "Demography and Productivity in the Italian Manufacturing Industry: Yesterday and Today," CEIS Research Paper 457, Tor Vergata University, CEIS, revised 16 May 2019.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. LaFave, Daniel & Thomas, Duncan, 2017. "Height and cognition at work: Labor market productivity in a low income setting," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 52-64.
    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. Elisabetta De Cao, 2015. "The Height Production Function from Birth to Age Two," Journal of Human Capital, University of Chicago Press, vol. 9(3), pages 329-363.
    4. Vogl, Tom S., 2014. "Height, skills, and labor market outcomes in Mexico," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 84-96.
    5. Pinna Pintor, Matteo & Fumagalli, Elena & Suhrcke, Marc, 2024. "The impact of health on labour market outcomes: A rapid systematic review," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    6. Petter Lundborg & Paul Nystedt & Dan-Olof Rooth, 2014. "Body Size, Skills, and Income: Evidence From 150,000 Teenage Siblings," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 51(5), pages 1573-1596, October.
    7. Bossavie, Laurent & Alderman, Harold & Giles, John & Mete, Cem, 2021. "The effect of height on earnings: Is stature just a proxy for cognitive and non-cognitive skills?," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 43(C).
    8. Thompson, Kristina & Portrait, France & Schoonmade, Linda, 2023. "The height premium: A systematic review and meta-analysis," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 50(C).
    9. Elisabetta De Cao, 2010. "The Height Production Function from Birth to Early Adulthood," CEIS Research Paper 165, Tor Vergata University, CEIS, revised 28 May 2010.
    10. Amin, Vikesh & Fletcher, Jason M., 2022. "What is driving the relationship between height and cognition? Evidence from the Twins Early Development Study," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 47(C).
    11. Elisabetta De Cao, 2014. "The height production function from birth to maturity," CSAE Working Paper Series 2014-31, Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford.
    12. Balietti, Anca & Datta, Souvik & Veljanoska, Stefanija, 2022. "Air pollution and child development in India," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).
    13. repec:dgr:rugsom:14018-eef is not listed on IDEAS
    14. Bastani, Spencer & Karlsson, Kristina & Kolsrud, Jonas & Waldenström, Daniel, 2024. "The Capital Advantage: Comparing Returns to Ability in the Labor and Capital Markets," Working Papers in Economics and Statistics 1/2024, Linnaeus University, School of Business and Economics, Department of Economics and Statistics.
    15. Cinnirella, Francesco & Piopiunik, Marc & Winter, Joachim, 2011. "Why does height matter for educational attainment? Evidence from German children," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 9(4), pages 407-418.
    16. Lång, Elisabeth & Nystedt, Paul, 2018. "Two by two, inch by inch: Height as an indicator of environmental conditions during childhood and its influence on earnings over the life cycle among twins," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 53-66.
    17. Janet Currie & Tom Vogl, 2013. "Early-Life Health and Adult Circumstance in Developing Countries," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 5(1), pages 1-36, May.
    18. Jun Wang & Qihui Chen & Gang Chen & Yingxiang Li & Guoshu Kong & Chen Zhu, 2020. "What is creating the height premium? New evidence from a Mendelian randomization analysis in China," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(4), pages 1-20, April.
    19. Elif S. Filiz, 2022. "Does it Payoff to be Blond in a Non-Blond Neighborhood? Eye Color, Hair Color, Ethnic Composition and Starting Wages," Eastern Economic Journal, Palgrave Macmillan;Eastern Economic Association, vol. 48(1), pages 122-146, January.
    20. Bhalotra, Sonia & Chakravarty, Abhishek & Gulesci, Selim, 2020. "The price of gold: Dowry and death in India," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:exehis:v:67:y:2018:i:c:p:152-162. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/622830 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.