HEIGHT AND INEQUALITY IN POST-1950 MEXICO: A HISTORY OF STUNTED GROWTH (original) (raw)
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Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, 2015
By analyzing the Mexican case for the period 1850-1986, we argue that the average adult stature of a population can be used as a tool to analyze inequality in living standards. The findings suggest that the secular trend in stature is related to cycles of economic growth, inequality, wars and institutional changes. Such processes affect socioeconomic groups and regions differently and generate unequal living standard patterns. Moreover, male adult average height shows a U-shaped trend for the whole period of study. As a result, Mexico lagged behind on heights with respect to other Latin American economies such as Brazil and Colombia. Two different types of data sources are used for the analysis: military and passport records for the period 1850
ABSTRACT By analyzing the Mexican case for the period 1850–1986, we argue that the average adult stature of a population can be used as a tool to analyze inequality in living standards. The findings suggest that the secular trend in stature is related to cycles of economic growth, inequality, wars and institutional changes. Such processes affect socioeconomic groups and regions differently and generate unequal living standard patterns. Moreover, male adult average height shows a U-shaped trend for the whole period of study. As a result, Mexico lagged behind on heights with respect to other Latin American economies such as Brazil and Colombia. Two different types of data sources are used for the analysis: military and passport records for the period 1850–1950 and the 2000 Mexican National Health Survey (ENSA-2000) and the 2006 Mexican National Survey on Health and Nutrition (ENSANUT-2006) for the remaining years. KEYWORDS: Inequality, Anthropometric indicators, Living standards, Economic history, Health, Nutrition
Economics & Human Biology, 2003
The secular change in the biological standard of living of the Mexican population between 1870 and 1950 is examined based on evidence on the physical stature from military and passport records. While Mexico industrialized and experienced rapid economic growth during this period, there was only a modest overall improvement in the height, health and nutritional status of the Mexican population. The average Mexican born in the 1940s was not only slightly taller than its compatriot of the 1870s. There were, however, considerable social differences: the Mexican upper class was markedly taller than the working class and the gap increased prior to the revolution. Economic growth with systemic inequality largely accounts for such a pattern.
Growth with Inequality: Living Standards in Mexico, 1850–1950
Journal of Latin American Studies, 2007
This article focuses on trends in the adult heights of various sectors of Mexican society between 1850 and 1950 as a proxy for their biological and material standards of living. The evolution of biological standards of living is an alternative way to assess whether or not economic development after 1850 was beneficial to the population, using a proxy that relies on a basic natural characteristic, adult height. The recruitment records of the Mexican rural and federal militia provide us with information on the secular trends of heights of the Mexican labouring classes, while a database of passport applications allows us to compare the evolution of living standards across social classes. It is argued that the benefits of industrialisation and improved economic performance fostered by the Díaz regime (1876-1910) did not have a favourable impact on the biological wellbeing of the labouring population. There are, however, signs of improvement in living standards with the launching of welfare programmes at the end of the Cárdenas administration. In contrast, the average height of the elites increased throughout the period, suggesting that there was a growing disparity in the evolution of living standards between social classes.
The body as a mirror of inequality in México during the second half of the twentieth century
Manguinhos, 2024
This paper examines how variations in the height and health of Mexicans during the second half of the twentieth century reflect the evolution of economic inequality, as its effects have repercussions on the health and nutritional conditions of the population. The average height of Mexican adults had a modest increase with respect to the possibilities of human plasticity. These anthropometric variations were the result of the incorporation of advances in science and technology leading to improved standards of living among the population. Body changes were impacted by dietary habits, urbanization, and government policies supporting food production and distribution.
2015
How did welfare change in Mexico during the post WWII industrialization process and the resulting high concentration of population around a few metropolitan areas? Employing anthropometric methodology, I use the Mexican Family Life Survey 2002 (MxFLS-1) to present evidence on the biological standard of living during the period 1953-82. Results show a national increase in both female and male adult physical stature. Inter-regional differences, however, were not homogeneously reduced and the observed initial polarization was not eliminated. After controlling for proxies of socioeconomic status like education attainment and individuals ’ father’s first job, it is found that population density at State level is negatively correlated with both women and men height. This result suggests that part of the economic and social benefits of high concentration of economic activity around metropolitan areas were overcompensated by negative effects of congestion.
Revista de Historia Economica - Journal of Iberian and Latin American Economic History, 2019
Anthropometric history is a well-established discipline in Iberian and Latin American regions. The need to have alternative measures of the standard of living in order to explore the past evolution of economies and societies when conventional indicators were not available has been an important consideration among researchers. In an effort to reconstruct historical series of stature, scholars of the region have produced over a hundred studies that combine insights from history, economics, medicine, biology, and physical anthropology. In the last fifteen years, the anthropometric history literature has increased remarkably with important findings about the long-term biological living standards. In some cases, scholars established quite ambitious goals, such as reconstructing the evolution of heights from the late-colonial period to the new era of globalization, delineating clear trajectories of health and nutrition. We know the main features of the variations of heights during the last two centuries and the regional; we know also that social and ethnic differences were substantial. It is not the occasion here to provide a detailed description of the findings made during these two decades. Therefore, this introductory essay only highlights the main contributions of this volume and briefly discusses the meaning of its findings in the recent Ibero-American anthropometric history. This special issue of RHE-JILAEH is a good example of the vitality shown by anthropometric history in the region. With new data of human heights for the contemporary period, between 1820 and 1990, fifteen scholars examine two key questions: a) the long-term evolution of biological welfare; and b) the existence of inequalities in net-nutrition in six countries: Spain, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Mexico