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The Lasting Effects of Maternal Net Nutrition during US Economic Development

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  • Scott A. Carson

Abstract

When traditional measures for economic welfare are scarce or unreliable, stature and the body mass index (BMI) are now widely-accepted measures that reflect economic conditions. However, little work exists for late 19th and early 20th century women’s BMIs in the US and how they varied with economic development. This study shows that after controlling for characteristics, African-American women had greater BMIs than lighter complexioned black and white women. Women from the Southwest were taller and had lower BMIs than women born elsewhere within the US. However, women’s BMIs did not vary by occupations. Women’s BMIs decreased throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries, which may have implications for the health and cognitive development of lower socioeconomic status children who reached maturity in the mid-20th century.

Suggested Citation

  • Scott A. Carson, 2016. "The Lasting Effects of Maternal Net Nutrition during US Economic Development," CESifo Working Paper Series 5827, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_5827
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    File URL: https://www.cesifo.org/DocDL/cesifo1_wp5827.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Scott A. Carson, 2018. "The 19th Centure Net Nutrition Transition from Free to Bound Labor: A Difference-in-Decompositions Approach," CESifo Working Paper Series 6932, CESifo.
    2. Carson, Scott Alan, 2019. "Late 19th, early 20th century US, foreign-born body mass index values in the United States," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 26-38.
    3. Scott A. Carson, 2019. "Changing Current Net Nutrition with Weight as a Measure of Net Nutritional Change with the Transition from Bound to Free Labor: A Difference-in-Decompositions Approach," CESifo Working Paper Series 7502, CESifo.
    4. Scott A. Carson, 2017. "Late 19th and Early 20th Century Native and Immigrant Body Mass Index Values," CESifo Working Paper Series 6771, CESifo.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    late 19th and early 20th century women's BMIs; ethnicity and BMI; women's health during economic development;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • N31 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - U.S.; Canada: Pre-1913
    • N32 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - U.S.; Canada: 1913-
    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination

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