AYSPS researcher shows taller Americans earn more
ATLANTA –Do taller people have a higher income? Inas Rashad, a professor of economics at Georgia State University, says your height may be earning you some extra dollars.
Rashad: “Tall people across the board, regardless of gender, regardless of race, earn higher incomes. And this effect is especially strong for white males, but also for African-American males. When you find a big effect for Hispanic males it’s partly due to starting from a lower level because in general their mean height is a little bit shorter so it looks like a big increase, but it’s not that huge because you’re starting from a lower level.” (length 0:30)
About 10 centimeters in height can add up to $2,306 to a man’s salary and $2,242 to a woman’s. And not only does height correlate with income, but Rashad says height correlates with obesity and a number of other health conditions, which may also affect the labor market through effects on productivity, absenteeism due to sick days, or a greater need for employer provided health insurance.
Rashad: “Especially for females, studies shown have found that being more obese for example or having more weight is associated with having a lower income. Now that’s not necessarily true of males. Studies have been mixed. But in general, males tend to have a higher income if they have a little bit more weight on them. Now of course the difference depends on the levels. For example, if they’re very thin they might want to gain a few pounds, but if they’re very big already, that increase in pounds for males isn’t going to have much effect on their income.” (length 0:36)
Although Rashad is looking at height in her study, she also says the increase in wage premiums could be due to other factors, including discrimination or sociability.
Rashad: “Some implications of this study, especially with the income premium, that we should be concerned perhaps with is nutrition in general for kids because it’s very hard obviously to change height. But we should also be aware of possible discrimination, because if we see this huge premium it’s possible that a big chunk of it is due to discrimination by employers, so that’s something we should be on the look out for.” (length 0:28)
For Georgia State University Radioline, I’m Michelle Handelman
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