Tall vs. Short: The Debate over Earning Potential
“All limitations are self-imposed.” — Ernest Holmes
Mark Borden of The New Yorker recently reported in an article called Shortchanged that there is a connection between height and money earned.
“In August, two Princeton economists released a study titled ‘Stature and Status: Height, Ability, and Labor Market Outcomes.’ The aim of the paper, by Anne Case and Christina Paxson, was to attempt to explain why tall people generally earn more than short people. The question is not a new one. More than a hundred years ago, social scientists established the correlation between height and socioeconomic status, and they’ve been trying to solve the enigma of what has been called the ‘height premium’ ever since.” A copy of the study can be found by clicking here.
Soon after the study was available, “Reuters published a story on the paper under the headline ‘TALLER PEOPLE ARE SMARTER”STUDY.’ Within days, Case and Paxson had received dozens and dozens of e-mails from outraged readers. ‘I have no idea if it was the fact that women had written the study, but half of the ones I got were from short men,’ Case said the other day.”
The Reuters article states, “Other studies have pointed to low self-esteem, better health that accompanies greater height, and social discrimination as culprits for lower pay for shorter people. But researchers Case and Paxson believe the height advantage in the job world is more than just a question of image.”
They wrote, “As adults, taller individuals are more likely to select into higher paying occupations that require more advanced verbal and numerical skills and greater intelligence, for which they earn handsome returns.”
“For both men and women in the United States and the United Kingdom, a height advantage of four inches equated with a 10 percent increase in wages on average.”
Malcolm Gladwell had a few things to say about the topic, “It’s worth, I think, fleshing out the height argument a bit more. My guess is that we have an attraction to tall men for evolutionary reasons: when you’re living in a cave, height is a fairly good proxy for physical strength–and that’s not a bad criterion for choosing a leader.”
“It’s also the case that that bias–if it’s as hard-wired as it seems–can create a real advantage for tall people: if they’ve been tall their whole lives, then they’ve been looked up to by others their whole lives, and by the time they’ve reached their thirties or forties, they’ve had a lifetime of experience with being thought of as a leader. That’s a real advantage. But being comfortable with being a leader–and having people make a immediate association between you and leadership–is not, of course, all it takes to be a good leader. And that’s the problem.”
Most of these articles all then add a disclaimer that height is tied to childhood nutrition. So what’s the point of all of this… oh, I don’t know. I just thought it was ironic. I’m 5’10” and I’ve never found height to be an advantage. I was close to this size in sixth grade and remember a younger student once stopped me in the hallway to show me his bathroom pass… remember those? Anyway, he thought I was a teacher. It’s taken a lifetime of therapy to get past those childhood experiences. So it seems I’ve spent more money on my height than it ever earned me. Anyone care to comment on their experience?
Anyone care to comment on their experience?
Sure.
I too was a young Amazon, towering head & shoulders above my peers from fourth grade to about maybe 11th grade, when some finally caught up and overtook me in height and overall size. Add to that my genetic predetermination for fat- I was easily twice the overall volume of most of my peers.
Funny, the height was not as much of an issue for me. Society hates its fat girls and that was much more for me to have to deal with. Height is not something anyone can be expected to control and is not considered a measure of health like fat is.
I’m a short (and squatty) girl and I’ve been aware of the sense of authority that height brings to a person.
Interesting. I, too am 5’10” (and 3/4″ extra if you’re detailed oriented 😉 I was always tall and when I was young was particularly heavy. People bullied me, calling me an amazon which was really hurtful. Of course decades later, it is ironic that I end up being a tall, proud, out, fit lesbian. Haha, I got the last laugh.
Another thing I noticed was that when my confidence was low, I always wanted to be shorter. I slumped & tried to shrink when I was with others. Now I’m past that and just stand tall, but I wonder if that confidence (lack thereof) and being “different” is another reason tall people have to pull up the bootstraps and lead. Of course the same could be said about the particularly shorter folks among us that grow up to be a powerhouse.
Interesting article….