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Socio-Economic Characteristics of the Tall and not so Tall Women of India

Author

Listed:
  • Brinda Viswanathan

    (Madras School of Economics)

  • Viney Sharma

    (Short Term Consultant, South Asia Social Protection Unit,World Bank, New Delhi)

Abstract

New studies are increasingly appearing based on historical data across the world that better socio-economic status is associated with taller men and women. This study based on a recent Indian data analyses the variations in height among adult women. The main findings show that regional level differences in mean heights are prominent and contiguous regions show similar mean heights after controlling for socio-economic differences. Women from weaker socio-economic groups are shorter and so are women in rural areas though the rural-urban gap disappears after controlling for socio-economic variations. Women who have had at least one child during teenage have lower average heights but this difference is not statistically significant once differences in education are accounted for.

Suggested Citation

  • Brinda Viswanathan & Viney Sharma, 2009. "Socio-Economic Characteristics of the Tall and not so Tall Women of India," Working Papers 2009-041, Madras School of Economics,Chennai,India.
    • Handle: RePEc:mad:wpaper:2009-041
    as

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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. S. Mahendra Dev, 2008. "India," Chapters, in: Anis Chowdhury & Wahiduddin Mahmud (ed.), Handbook on the South Asian Economies, chapter 1, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    2. Dinda, Soumyananda & Gangopadhyay, P.K. & Chattopadhyay, B.P. & Saiyed, H.N. & Pal, M. & Bharati, P., 2006. "Height, weight and earnings among coalminers in India," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 4(3), pages 342-350, December.
    3. Angus Deaton, 2008. "Height, Health, and Inequality: The Distribution of Adult Heights in India," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 98(2), pages 468-474, May.
    4. repec:pri:rpdevs:deaton_height_health_inequality_revised_ack_jan08.pdf is not listed on IDEAS
    5. Baten, Jorg & Murray, John E., 2000. "Heights of Men and Women in 19th-Century Bavaria: Economic, Nutritional, and Disease Influences," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 37(4), pages 351-369, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    Cited by:

    1. Brinda Viswanathan, 2014. "Variations in Women’s Heights across Social and Religious Groups Among Indian States," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 119(2), pages 1149-1169, November.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Height; anthropometry; gender; education; poverty; India;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J11 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Demographic Trends, Macroeconomic Effects, and Forecasts
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General Welfare, Well-Being
    • R11 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Regional Economic Activity: Growth, Development, Environmental Issues, and Changes
    • R29 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Other

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