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Portuguese living standards, 1720–1980, in European comparison: heights, income, and human capital 1
Author(s) -
STOLZ YVONNE,
BATEN JOERG,
REIS JAIME
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
the economic history review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.014
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1468-0289
pISSN - 0013-0117
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-0289.2012.00658.x
Subject(s) - portuguese , standard of living , human capital , order (exchange) , demographic economics , geography , economics , economy , economic growth , philosophy , linguistics , finance , market economy
When and why did the Portuguese become the shortest Europeans? In order to find the answer to this question, we trace the trend in Portuguese living standards from the 1720s until recent times. We find that during the early nineteenth century average height in Portugal did not differ significantly from average height in most other European countries, but that when, around 1850, European anthropometric values began to climb sharply, Portugal's did not. In a panel analysis of 12 countries, we find that delay in human‐capital formation was the chief factor hindering any improvement in the biological standard of living in Portugal.