February 2009
Using a source of 19th century US state prison records, this study addresses European-American stature variation. The most commonly cited sources for stature variation are diets, disease, and work effort. However, vitamin D is also vital in human statures and health. This paper demonstrates that 19th century white statures were positively associated with direct sunlight, which is the primary source of vitamin D in mammals. Stature and insolation are associated with occupations, and workers who spent more time outdoors produced more vitamin D and grew taller. White statures also decreased throughout the 19th century, and this stature diminution is observed across the stature distribution.
Keywords: 19th US white statures, vitamin D, solar radiation, quantile regression
JEL Classification: [I300] Welfare and Poverty : General [I310] General Welfare [J000] Labor and Demographic Economics : General [J150] Economics of Minorities and Races; Non-labor Discrimination
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Scott A. Carson carson_s@utpb.edu
