Standing Tall at Sixteen: The Labor Market Value of Relative Height in Adolescence

Tiziano Arduini, Daniela Iorio and Francesca Marazzi

No 12911, CESifo Working Paper Series from CESifo

Abstract: We study whether social standing during adolescence has persistent effects on later labor market outcomes, using relative height within school cohorts as a visible, predetermined marker. Using Add Health data, we reinterpret the height premium as positional rather than a return to absolute stature. Being one inch shorter than the tallest classmate is associated with 1.4% lower earnings for males, with no effect for females. The relationship is asymmetric, driven by a penalty for low standing, and persists into mature career. It operates through social integration rather than schooling or occupational sorting, suggesting adolescent hierarchies have long-lasting economic consequences.

Keywords: height premium; adolescence; relative height; peer effects; social comparisons (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D91 I21 J24 J31 Z13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ces:ceswps:_12911

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