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Objective. We use the complete set of NHES and NHANES data collected between 1959 and 2004 in order to construct trends for the physical stature of the non-Hispanic white and black U.S. adult population and compare them to those of western and northern Europeans. Method. Regression analysis is used to estimate the trend in U.S. heights stratified by gender and ethnicity, holding income and educational attainment constant. Results. U.S. heights stabilized at mid-century and a two-decade period of stagnation set in with the birth cohorts 1955–1974, concurrent with continual rapid increases in heights in western and northern Europe. Americans had been the tallest in the world for (more than) two centuries until World War II, but by the end of the 20th century fell behind many European populations. Only since the most recent birth cohorts 1975–1983 is some gain apparent among whites but not among blacks. The relationship between height and income and between height and educational attainment has not changed appreciably over time for either men or women. Conclusion. We conjecture that the U.S. health-care system, as well as the relatively weak welfare safety net, might be why human growth in the United States has not performed as well in relative terms as one would expect on the basis of income alone. The comparative pattern bears some similarly to that of life expectancy insofar as the United States is also lagging behind in that respect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We explore the efficiency of the forward Reichsmark market in Vienna between 1876 and 1914. We estimate ARIMA models of the spot exchange rate in order to forecast the one-month-ahead spot rate. In turn we compare these forecasts to the contemporaneous forward rate, i.e., the market's forecast of the future spot rate. We find that shortly after the introduction of a "shadow" gold standard in the mid-1890s the forward rate became a considerably better predictor of the future spot rate than during the prior flexible exchange rate regime. Between 1907 and 1914 forecast errors were between a half and one-fourth of their pre-1896 level. This implies that the Austro-Hungarian Bank's policy of defending the gold value of the currency was successful in improving the efficiency of the foreign exchange market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Explores the unknown cycles in human physical stature since the Industrial Revolution in both Europe and North America. Information on the reduction in the physical stature of Americans born in the late 1830s; When the first decrease in physical stature occurred in Europe; Divergence in the life expectancy of the upper and lower income groups during the Industrial Revolution; Increase in the price of food between 1770 and 1795.

Looks at the role the New World played in assisting Europe in dealing with its food shortage crisis during the industrial revolution of the 19th century. Types of foods sent to Europe from the New World; Demographics of Europe during this period; Reference to the benefits of the potato plant; Caloric content of some of these foods.

Focuses on the industrial revolution in Europe in the eighteenth century. Influence of economic development; Increase in the human population prior to industrial revolution; Effect of urbanization on economic development.

Examines the demand for money in late 19th century Austria and Hungary. Use of recursive residual method to test the stability of a functional relationship; Confirmation of results of the recursive residual method through regressions; Influence of developments in the financial sector on the structural changes in the demand for money.

Discusses the rate and pattern of Austro-Hungarian agricultural development in the first two thirds of the nineteenth century. Assessment of the effects of the mid-century reforms on agricultural development in the Habsburg Monarchy; Growth of the Austro-Hungarian cereal output before and after 1850; Causes of grain deficits around 1850.

The article discusses the relationship between industrialization and the well being of the European societies in eighteenth century. The anthropometric evidence indicates that from the middle of the eighteenth century, average height in several European countries declined and continued to do so until the beginning of the next century. This was the case in east-central Europe, in Sweden, and in Great Britain and Ireland. In fact, the slum boys of London in eighteenth century were so malnourished that they were shorter than boys living in practically any society today. Malnutrition became widespread, even endemic, during the course of the century. As a consequence, the lower classes suffered a diminution in their nutritional status. The notion of a general decline in food consumption during the second half of the eighteenth century was already evident to an earlier generation of scholars using conventional indicators. However, that evidence was not integrated well into a conceptualization of the industrial revolution, except insofar as its relevance to the debate over the changes in the standard of living was perceived.

Bodenhorn, Guinnane, and Mroz (2017) argue that the diminution of heights during the Industrial Revolution and in the Antebellum U.S. is an artefact of the biased nature of the samples analyzed. We demonstrate that it would be an unfathomable coincidence if men and women all self-selected into scores of completely independent samples in such a way as to bias them in the identical direction. Instead, wWe show that BGM's periodization is flawed and that their statistical models are misspecified, because they fail to consider the extent to which they introduce severe multicollinearity into their regressions. In addition, they fail to specify how they selected the samples they included in their analysis. In contrast, we argue that the economic transition from a predominantly agricultural to an increasingly industrial society was not a smooth process and lags in adjustment led to nutritional stresses. Height of a typical man in the U.S. decreased by 0.75 inches at a time when incomes were growing at a rate of 1.2% per annum. The developing human body of children and youth was sensitive enough to these nutritional stresses to register their effect better than monetary measures could. While nutritional status did decline during the Industrial Revolution in Europe and at the onset of modern economic in the U.S., by the second half of the 19 th century agricultural productivity caught up with the increased demand for foodstuffs and height reversals became a rarity. Thus, although markets adjusted, they did not do so instantaneously. Consequently, physical stature declined during this adjustment process although the wealthy were shielded from the increased price of nutrients. So, the divergence in average incomes and average heights at the threshold of the modern age is not so puzzling after all., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: The secular trend in the height of the US population has been almost neglected in a comparative perspective, despite its being a useful indicator of early-life biological conditions., Aim: The study estimated the height of the US population and compared it to Western European trends after World War II., Subjects and Method: The complete set of NHES and NHANES data were analyzed, collected between 1959 and 2004 by the National Center for Health Statistics, in order to construct trends of the physical stature of US-born men and women limited to non-Hispanic blacks and whites. Also analyzed was the trend in the height of US military personnel whose parents were also born in the USA. The trends and levels were compared with those of several European populations., Results: The increase in the physical stature of US adults slowed down by mid-century concurrent with a substantial acceleration in height attainment in Western and Northern Europe. Military data corroborate this finding in the main. After being the tallest population in the world ever since colonial times, Americans are now shorter than most Western and Northern Europeans and as much as 4.7-5.7 cm shorter than the Dutch, who are the tallest in world today., Conclusion: Given the well-established relationship between adult stature and early-life biological welfare, it was hypothesized that either American diets are sub-optimal or that the universal health care systems and social safety net of the European welfare states are providing a more favorable early-life health environment than does the American health care system.

Aiming to further explore possible underlying causes of the recent remarkable stagnation and relative decline in American heights, this paper describes the result of analysis of the commercial US Sizing Survey (2002). Heights are correlated positively with income and education among both white males and females while Body Mass Index (BMI) is correlated negatively among females, as in other samples. In contrast to much of the literature, this paper considers geographic correlates of height such as local poverty rate, median income and population density at the zip code level of resolution. After adjusting for confounding factors that influence height such as income and education, population density is found to be strongly and negatively correlated with height among white men, but less so among white women. The effect on BMIs less convincing. Other ethnic groups are not analysed in detail because of the small number of observations available. Local economic conditions as measured by median income, unemployment and poverty rate do not have a strong correlation with height or BMI after adjusting for individual income and education.

Background: Longitudinal height measurements on children and youth are very rare prior to the 20th century, as are BMI values., Aim: Growth increments and BMI values were determined among elite (select) Habsburg children and youth in the late 19th century and compared with other extant historical and contemporary data., Subject and Methods: Archival data on height and weight were collected for approximately 3500 students attending Habsburg Military schools. The students were measured once a year for 4 years. Because of the minimum height requirement, truncated regression was used in order to estimate height trends, but standard procedures were used to determine height increments and BMI values., Results: Heights increased at most 0.9-1.6 cm between the birth cohorts of circa 1870s and 1900. These future officers were about the same size as their counterparts in the USA and France, but smaller than those attending the Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst, England, who were taller and probably the tallest in the world at the time. Height increments were markedly smaller than those experienced by German students in the 18th century after age 15. Central European BMI values were above those obtained in the USA in the 19th century but well below modern values., Conclusion: Although peak height velocity was experienced as early as ages 13 and 14, the height increments were very small compared even to other historical populations. The military academy selected mainly precocious applicants (with probably larger height increments at younger ages and smaller increments at older ages). BMI values in this sample were well below modern standards, but they were unexpectedly as high as those of contemporary US West Point cadets, a well nourished group. There were significant differences in the height of elites in Central Europe in the 19th century, pointing to substantial socio-economic inequality, but at least the elites were as well nourished as the US population.

The systematic patterns in human adult physical stature are explored in connection with Wolf's relative sunspot numbers. This topic should be of interest to economists, physicians as well as physicists. There is a need for more than a check of any similarity of curves in variables approximating the economy and human stature and for more than the application of mathematical models, as done herein. Ours is at best a halting step at one frequency, presented only to document the challenge of a transdisciplinary approach to multifrequency intermodulations of hosts of variables, yet to be untangled. The circumstance that at birth some decisions concerning adult stature are already made is challenging. The signature of the environment in terms of the about 21-year Hale bipolarity cycle of Wolf's relative sunspot numbers found in adult soldiers shows that the association at birth is not a transient one, even if other evidence beyond our scope herein points to the possibility that observations on presumably healthy soldiers can be extrapolated to abnormal growth. Nonetheless, the task for those concerned with short stature could become preventive if the sensitive stages when growth may be inhibited by the environment could be found, as well as means to shield from or counter the undesirable effects.

It is hypothesized that recent trends in US and worldwide obesity are, in part, related to an increase in the marginal rate of time preference, where time preference refers to the rate at which people are willing to trade current benefit for future benefit. The higher the rate of time preference, the larger is the factor by which individuals discount the future health risks associated with current consumption. Data from the United States, as well as international evidence, suggest that a relationship between these two variables is plausible. The authors encourage researchers to explore the possible link between obesity and time preference, as important insights are likely to result.