Estatura, salud y bienestar en las primeras etapas del crecimiento económico español. Una perspectiva comparada de los niveles de vida

José Miguel Martinez Carrión ()
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José Miguel Martinez Carrión: Departamento de Economía Aplicada, Universidad de Murcia

No 102, Documentos de Trabajo (DT-AEHE) from Asociación Española de Historia Económica

Abstract: The Spaniards stature evolution between 1850 and 1930 as well as the relationships among nutrition, health, and welfare are analyzed. Data from various Spanish regions together with the reconstruction of a stature series with heights from about 130,000 conscripts from the southeast suggest deterioration of biological standards of living in the generations born in Spain between 1840-50 and 1870 –a period of economic expansion and industry outbreak. Although the stature fall is not significant in comparison with that of The United States and England, the Kuznetsian thesis on environmental deterioration in early industrialization stages could be applied to the Spanish case. Results are observed in the light of the first phases of modern economic growth within an international context. Likewise, our series shows stature increase in those generations born from 1880 extending up to the eve of the First World War. Finally, it is reported an explanatory model of the factors that contributed to the stature trend and, particularly, the stature deterioration, leading to high rates of low heights until the beginning of the Restoration.

Keywords: Stature; physical growth; economic growth; standards of living; health; nutrition; welfare; Spain; XIXth century (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I00 J1 N33 O1 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2001-09
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Persistent link: http://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ahe:dtaehe:0102

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