Duke 2008 | ASHE | Equity and Efficiency in Health and Healthcare

Various studies have investigated the relationship between height and earnings. They show that individuals of both sexes who are taller than average enjoy a substantial earnings premium as compared to their counterparts of average stature (Persico et al. 2004; Judge and Cable 2004; Behrman and Rosenzweig. 2001).

There are a number of potential explanations for this pattern of results. Hamermesh and Biddle (1994) found empirical support for the hypothesis that appearance matters in the determination of labor market outcomes, and argued that this result was most likely due to'pure Becker-type discrimination' (p. 1193). To the extent that height is a component of appearance, its relationship to earnings may be a reflection of employer tastes. Researchers have also postulated that taller individuals are more confident and have higher self-esteem, and that these qualities are rewarded in the labor market (Judge and Cable 2004). Finally, it has been suggested that as a result of nutritional intake during childhood, height is positively correlated with intelligence. Taller individuals earn more because they are, on average, more intelligent and therefore more productive (Case and Paxson 2006).

These explanations have been called into question by the work of Persico et al. (2004), who examined data on white males from the NLSY79 and the National Child Development Survey (NCDS). Persico et al. (2004) found that the relationship between adult height and earnings disappeared after controlling for height at age 16, and argued that the return to being tall must therefore 'reflect a characteristic correlated with height when young' (p. 1023). Identifying this characteristic, however, proved difficult. Controls for self-esteem, health, cognitive ability at age 7, and family background variables had very little impact on the estimated relationship between height at age 16 and wages, although the authors found that the estimated effect of adolescent height on wages fell by 38 percent when adjusted for participation in high school athletics, hobby clubs, student government, yearbook, and performing arts. Nevertheless, 62 percent of the adolescent height effect could not be explained.

This research investigates the relationship between adolescent height and a potentially important, but often difficult-to-observe, factor: psychological wellbeing, as measured by the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) Scale. Only a handful of previous studies have investigated the relationship between adult height and mental health problems such as depression (Montgomery et al. 2007; Osika and Montgomery 2007). This is, to our knowledge, the first study to examine the relationship between adolescent height and mental health.

Drawing on data from the first two waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, we find evidence that among adolescents 14-16 years of age, height is associated with significantly lower CES-D scores. In addition, we find evidence of a positive relationship between height and self-esteem among adolescents in this same age group. These results suggest that the effect of adolescent height on earnings may be mediated, at least in part, through psychological factors.