Physiology and Development: Why the West is Taller than the Rest

Carl-Johan Dalgaard and Holger Strulik

Hannover Economic Papers (HEP) from Leibniz Universität Hannover, Wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Fakultät

Abstract: We hypothesize that the timing of the fertility transition is an important determinant of comparative physiological development. In support, we provide a model of long-run growth, which elucidates the links between population size, average body size and income during development. Industrialization is shown to be accompanied by a reduction in family size and an intensi cation of nutrition per child. Early transition countries are therefore expected to be more developed today, economically and physiologically. Empirically, the timing of the fertility transition is strongly correlated with average body size across countries.

Keywords: unified growth theory; body size; fertility; nutrition (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I12 J13 O11 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 37 pages
Date: 2012-03
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dem
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Journal Article: Physiology and Development: Why the West is Taller Than the Rest (2016)
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