Nineteenth century stature and family size: Binding constraint or productive labor force?

The use of height data to measure living standards is now a well-established method in economics. Nevertheless, a neglected area in historical stature studies is the relationship between stature and family size, and statures are documented here to be positively related with family size. The relationship between material inequality and heath is the subject of considerable debate, and there was an inverse relationship between material inequality and stature. The paper also supports a bio-spatial relationship between the environment and stature.