Working Paper: NBER ID: w18318
Authors: Tom Vogl
Abstract: Taller workers are paid higher wages. A prominent explanation for this pattern is that physical growth and cognitive development share childhood inputs, inducing a correlation between adult height and two productive skills: strength and intelligence. This paper explores the relative roles of strength and intelligence in explaining the labor market height premium in Mexico. While cognitive test scores account for a limited share of the height premium, roughly half of the premium can be attributed to the educational and occupational choices of taller workers. Taller workers obtain more education and sort into occupations with greater intelligence requirements and lower strength requirements, suggesting that the height premium partly reflects a return to cognitive skill.
Keywords: height; labor market outcomes; cognitive skills; Mexico
JEL Codes: I15; J24; O15
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Height (Y10) | Wages (J31) |
| Height (Y10) | Educational Attainment (I21) |
| Height (Y10) | Occupational Choice (J29) |
| Cognitive Skills (G53) | Wages (J31) |
| Height (Y10) | Cognitive Test Scores (C12) |
| Cognitive Test Scores (C12) | Occupational Choice (J29) |