The full distribution of adult height in Poland: cohorts born between 1920 and 1996. The biological cost of the economic transition

Marcin Wroński (1)

1 SGH Warsaw School of Economics

Body height often serves as a proxy for economic progress. In this paper, we investigate the evolution of average height and height dispersion in Poland based on full administrative data on body height (n=36,393,246). In the cohorts born between 1920 and 1996, the average height of men increased by 10.15 cm, while the average height of women rose by 8.18 cm. Height increase was fastest in the years 1940-1980. After the economic transition, body height stagnated. Post-transition unemployment had negative effects on body height. Height declined in municipalities where there were State Agricultural Farms. Height dispersion decreased in the first decades under investigation and increased after the economic transition.

Mots clés: height; secular trend; inequality; Poland

Domaines: Economies et finances

Marcin Wroński. The full distribution of adult height in Poland: cohorts born between 1920 and 1996. The biological cost of the economic transition. 2023. ⟨halshs-04173215⟩