Height has long been recognized as being associated with better outcomes: the question is whether this association is causal. We use children's genetic variants as instrumental variables to deal with possible unobserved confounders and examine the effect of child/adolescent height on a wide range of outcomes: academic performance, IQ, self-esteem, depression symptoms and behavioral problems. OLS findings show that taller children have higher IQ, perform better in school, and are less likely to have behavioral problems. The IV results differ: taller girls (but not boys) have better cognitive performance and, in contrast to the OLS, greater height appears to increase behavioral problems.
Authors
Research Fellow University of Bristol
Research Fellow University of Bristol
Stephanie is a Reader in Economics at the University of Bristol and an Endowed Professor of Health Economics at Erasmus University Rotterdam.
George Davey Smith
Debbie A. Lawlor
Research Fellow Imperial College London
Carol is a Research Fellow at the IFS and a Professor of Economics in the Department of Management and Imperial College Business School, London.
Report details
- Publisher
- European Economic Review
Suggested citation
Davey Smith, G et al. (2013). Child Height, Health and Human Capital: Evidence using Genetic Markers. London: European Economic Review. Available at: https://ifs.org.uk/publications/child-height-health-and-human-capital-evidence-using-genetic-markers (accessed: 4 May 2024).
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