IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ces/ceswps/_9411.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

International Migration and Net Nutrition in the Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries: Evidence from Prison Records

Author

Listed:
  • Scott A. Carson

Abstract

In migration studies, immigrant health is a concern before, during, and after migration. This study uses a large late 19th and early 20th century data set of over 20 US prisons to assess migrant net nutrition. Native-born individuals were taller and had the lowest BMIs. International immigrants had lower BMIs and shorter statures. After controlling for other characteristics, native-born females had lower BMIs than men; however, foreign-born women’s’ BMIs were higher than domestic-born women. Females and males with darker complexions had greater BMIs than their counterparts with fairer complexions.

Suggested Citation

  • Scott A. Carson, 2021. "International Migration and Net Nutrition in the Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries: Evidence from Prison Records," CESifo Working Paper Series 9411, CESifo.
  • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_9411
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.cesifo.org/DocDL/cesifo1_wp9411.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Wahl, Jenny B., 1996. "The Jurisprudence of American Slave Sales," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 56(1), pages 143-169, March.
    2. Larry A. Sjaastad, 1970. "The Costs and Returns of Human Migration," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Harry W. Richardson (ed.), Regional Economics, chapter 9, pages 115-133, Palgrave Macmillan.
    3. Scott Alan Carson, 2001. "Indentured Migration in America's Great Basin: An Observation in Strategic Behavior in Cooperative Exchanges," Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics (JITE), Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, vol. 157(4), pages 651-676, December.
    4. Grubb Farley & Stitt Tony, 1994. "The Liverpool Emigrant Servant Trade and the Transition to Slave Labor in the Chesapeake, 1697-1707: Market Adjustments to War," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 31(3), pages 376-405, July.
    5. Carson, Scott Alan, 2019. "Net nutrition on the late 19(th) and early 20(th) century American Great Plains: a robust biological response to the challenges to the Turner Hypothesis," Munich Reprints in Economics 78280, University of Munich, Department of Economics.
    6. Gerald Carlino & Keith Sill, 2001. "Regional Income Fluctuations: Common Trends And Common Cycles," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 83(3), pages 446-456, August.
    7. Cawley, John (ed.), 2011. "The Oxford Handbook of the Social Science of Obesity," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199736362.
    8. Steckel, Richard H., 1989. "Household migration and rural settlement in the United States, 1850-1860," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 26(2), pages 190-218, April.
    9. Cawley, John, 2015. "An economy of scales: A selective review of obesity's economic causes, consequences, and solutions," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 244-268.
    10. Bodenhorn, Howard, 1999. "A Troublesome Caste: Height and Nutrition of Antebellum Virginia's Rural Free Blacks," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 59(4), pages 972-996, December.
    11. Galenson, David W., 1981. "White Servitude and the Growth of Black Slavery in Colonial America," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 41(1), pages 39-47, March.
    12. Cohn,Raymond L., 2009. "Mass Migration under Sail," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521513227, October.
    13. Hatton, Timothy J. & Williamson, Jeffrey G., 1998. "The Age of Mass Migration: Causes and Economic Impact," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780195116519.
    14. Scott Alan Carson, 2018. "The weight of nineteenth century Mexicans in the Western United States," Historical Methods: A Journal of Quantitative and Interdisciplinary History, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(1), pages 1-12, January.
    15. Steckel, Richard H., 1979. "Slave height profiles from coastwise manifests," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 16(4), pages 363-380, October.
    16. Komlos, John & Carson, Scott, 2017. "The BMI values of the lower classes likely declined during the Great Depression," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 26(C), pages 137-143.
    17. Carson, Scott Alan, 2008. "The Effect of Geography and Vitamin D on African American Stature in the Nineteenth Century: Evidence from Prison Records," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 68(3), pages 812-831, September.
    18. Burkhauser, Richard V. & Cawley, John, 2008. "Beyond BMI: The value of more accurate measures of fatness and obesity in social science research," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(2), pages 519-529, March.
    19. Komlos, John & Kelly, Inas (ed.), 2016. "The Oxford Handbook of Economics and Human Biology," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199389292.
    20. Carson, Scott Alan, 2007. "Mexican body mass index values in the late-19th-century American West," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 5(1), pages 37-47, March.
    21. Joseph P. Ferrie, 1999. "Yankeys Now: Immigrants in the Antebellum US 1840-1860," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number ferr99-1.
    22. Scott Alan Carson, 2013. "The Significance and Relative Contributions of Demographic, Residence, and Socioeconomic Status in Nineteenth-Century U.S. BMI Variation," Historical Methods: A Journal of Quantitative and Interdisciplinary History, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 46(2), pages 67-76, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Scott A. Carson, 2021. "Omitting the Obvious: Cohort Effects in 19th and 20th Century BMI Variation," CESifo Working Paper Series 8817, 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, 2020. "Body Mass, Nutrition, and Disease: Current Net Nutrition during US Economic Development," CESifo Working Paper Series 8464, CESifo.
    4. Scott Carson, 2011. "Demographic, residential, and socioeconomic effects on the distribution of nineteenth-century African-American stature," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 24(4), pages 1471-1491, October.
    5. Scott A. Carson, 2019. "A Female-Male Net Nutrition Comparison Using Differences-in-Decompositions: Late 19th and Early 20th Century Social Feminism and Women's Suffrage," CESifo Working Paper Series 8037, CESifo.
    6. Scott A. Carson, 2017. "Late 19th and Early 20th Century Native and Immigrant Body Mass Index Values," CESifo Working Paper Series 6771, CESifo.
    7. 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.
    8. Scott Alan Carson, 2020. "Net nutrition, insolation, mortality, and the antebellum paradox," Journal of Bioeconomics, Springer, vol. 22(2), pages 77-98, July.
    9. Scott A. Carson, 2016. "The Lasting Effects of Maternal Net Nutrition during US Economic Development," CESifo Working Paper Series 5827, CESifo.
    10. Scott Alan Carson, 2022. "Body mass, nutrition, and disease: nineteenth century current net nutrition during economic development," Journal of Bioeconomics, Springer, vol. 24(1), pages 37-65, April.
    11. Scott Alan Carson & Scott A. Carson, 2024. "A Post Bellum Paradox: Net Nutrition Variation by Socioeconomic Status, Gender and Race in the Late 19th Century," CESifo Working Paper Series 10899, CESifo.
    12. Scott Carson, 2015. "A Weighty Issue: Diminished Net Nutrition Among the U.S. Working Class in the Nineteenth Century," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 52(3), pages 945-966, June.
    13. Carson, Scott Alan, 2011. "Height of female Americans in the 19th century and the antebellum puzzle," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 9(2), pages 157-164, March.
    14. Scott A. Carson, 2015. "The Weight of Inequality: Variation with Industrialization and Wealth," CESifo Working Paper Series 5629, CESifo.
    15. Scott A. Carson, 2013. "Black and White Body Mass Index Values in Developing 19th Century Nebraska," CESifo Working Paper Series 4268, CESifo.
    16. Scott A. Carson, 2020. "Nineteenth through early 20th Century Female and Male Statures within the Household," CESifo Working Paper Series 8616, CESifo.
    17. Scott Carson, 2013. "Differences in body mass indices for males imprisoned in the 19th century American South," Journal of Bioeconomics, Springer, vol. 15(1), pages 1-16, April.
    18. Scott A. Carson, 2018. "In Support of the Turner Hypothesis for the 19th Century American West: A Biological Response to Recent Criticisms," CESifo Working Paper Series 6969, CESifo.
    19. Scott A. Carson, 2008. "Demographic, Residential, and Socioeconomic Effects on the Distribution of 19th Century African-American Stature," CESifo Working Paper Series 2479, CESifo.
    20. Scott A. Carson, 2021. "Nineteenth Century Body Mass, Height, and Weight: Inequality across Quantiles," CESifo Working Paper Series 9135, CESifo.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    nineteenth century US health; immigrant health; BMI; malnourishment;
    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
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J70 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - General
    • N31 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - U.S.; Canada: Pre-1913

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:ces:ceswps:_9411. 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: Klaus Wohlrabe (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/cesifde.html .

    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.