Weight as a Measure for the Net Nutritional Transition From Bound to Free Labor: A Difference-in-Decompositions Approach

A population’s weight conditioned on height reflects its current net nutrition and demonstrates health variation during economic development. This study builds on the use of weight as a measure for current net nutrition and uses a difference-in-decompositions technique as it relates to institutional change to illustrate how Black and White current net nutrition varied with the transition to free-labor. Adult Black age-related weight gain was greater with the transition to free-labor yet was not as large as the adult White age-related weight gain. Agricultural worker’s current net nutrition was better than workers in other occupations, but was worse-off with the transition to free labor. Birth place within the United States had the greatest effect with across and within-group weight changes and the transition to free-labor. Within-group weight variation was greater than across-group variation.

NET NUTRITION INEQUALITY IN ARGENTINA, 1875–1950: NEW EVIDENCE AND SOME CONJECTURES

ABSTRACTUsing the coefficient of variations for heights, this paper examines the evolution of net nutrition inequality in Argentina from 1875 to 1950. It uses various samples of recruits and soldiers, previously gathered by the author. Evidence points to two important findings: (a) export-led growth led to stable or declining net-nutrition inequality; while import-substituting industrialisation generated significant net nutrition inequality; and (b) the highest levels of inequality in net nutrition took place during this latter phase in large urban, industrialised areas.

Net nutrition on the late 19th and early 20th century American Great Plains: a robust biological response to the challenges to the Turner Hypothesis

In 1893, Frederick Jackson Turner proposed that America’s Western frontier was an economic ‘safety-valve’ – a place where settlers could migrate when conditions in eastern states and Europe crystallized against their upward economic mobility. However, recent studies suggest the Western frontier’s material conditions may not have been as advantageous as Jackson proposed because settlers lacked the knowledge and human capital to succeed on the Plains and Far Western frontier. Using stature, BMI and weight from five late 19th and early 20th century prisons, this study uses 61,276 observations for men between ages 15 and 79 to illustrate that current and cumulative net nutrition on the Great Plains did not deteriorate during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, indicating that recent challenges to the Turner Hypothesis are not well supported by net nutrition studies.

Changing Institutions, Changing Net Nutrition: A Difference-in-Decompositions Approach to Understanding the U.S. Transition to Free-Labor

The body mass index (BMI) reflects current net nutrition and health during economic development. This study introduces a difference-in-decompositions approach to show that although 19th century African American current net nutrition was comparable to working-class Whites, it was made worse-off with the transition to free-labor. BMI reflects net nutrition over the life-course, and like stature, slave children’s BMIs increased more than Whites as they approached entry into the adult slave labor force. Agricultural worker’s net nutrition was better than workers in other occupations but was worse-off under free-labor and industrialization. Within-group BMI variation was greater than across-group variation, and White within-group variation associated with socioeconomic status was greater than African Americans.