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NET NUTRITION AND THE TRANSITION FROM 19TH CENTURY BOUND TO FREE-LABOR: ASSESSING DIETARY CHANGE WITH DIFFERENCES-IN-DECOMPOSITIONS

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 October 2018

Scott Alan Carson
Scott Alan Carson*
Affiliation:
University of Texas, Permian Basin and CESifo
*
Address correspondence to: Scott Alan Carson, University of Texas, Permian Basin, 4901 East University, Odessa, TX 79762, USA; e-mail: Carson_S@utpb.edu.
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Abstract:

Average stature reflects cumulative net nutrition and health during economic development. This study introduces a difference-in-decompositions approach to show that although 19th century African-American cumulative net nutrition was comparable to working class whites, it was made worse-off with the transition to free-labor. Average stature reflects net nutrition over the life-course, and adult blacks born under bound-labor had greater age related statures loss than blacks under free-labor. Agricultural worker's net nutrition was better than workers in other occupations and was better-off under free-labor and industrialization. Within-group stature variation was greater than across-group variation, and white within-group stature variation associated with socioeconomic status was greater than African-Americans.

Keywords

Stature variationcumulative net nutritionOaxaca decompositionC1C4D1I1N3
Type
Research Papers
Information
Journal of Demographic Economics , Volume 84 , Issue 4 , December 2018 , pp. 447 - 475
Copyright
Copyright © Université catholique de Louvain 2018 

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Footnotes

I appreciate comments from the anonymous referees, Doug Henderson, Shahil Sharma, Chinuedu Akah, Meekam Okeke, Lee Carson, Joe Beene, Kellye Manning, and Paul Hodges.

References

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