The biological standard of living and body height in colonial and post-colonial Indonesia, 1770–2000

How did the biological standard of living develop in Indonesia during colonial times? Did it increase substantially after decolonization? In our study, we use four sets of anthropometric data to construct time series of average human height since the 1770s. The paper observes a significant decline in heights in the 1870s, followed by only modest recovery during the next three decades, both of which are related to a sequence of disasters. Average heights increased from the 1900s and accelerated after World War II. The World Economic Crisis, the Japanese occupation and the war of independence in the 1930s and 1940s constituted a difficult period. Average height growth thereafter is related to improvements in food supply and the disease environment, particularly hygiene and medical care.     

Book production and the onset of modern economic growth

We provide a new data set on per capita book production as a proxy for advanced literacy skills, and assess this relative to other measures. While literacy proxies very basic skills, book production per capita is an indicator for more advanced capabilities. Growth theory suggests that human capital formation plays a significant role in creating the ‘wealth of nations.’ This study tests whether human capital formation has an impact on early-modern growth disparities. In contrast to some previous studies which denied the role of human capital as a crucial determinant of long-term growth, we confirm its importance.      

Numeracy of Africans,Asians, and Europeans during the early modern period: new evidence from Cape Colony court registers

The lack of accurate measures of human capital formation often constrains investigations into the long‐run determinants of growth and comparative economic development, especially in the developing world. Using the reported ages of criminals in the Court of Justice records in the Cape Archives, this article documents for the first time numeracy levels and trends for inhabitants of the Cape Colony born between the late seventeenth and early nineteenth century: the native Khoesan, European settlers, and imported slaves from other African regions and Asia. This variety of origins allows us to compare contemporaneous levels of early modern development across three continents. By isolating those slaves born at the Cape, we also provide a glimpse into the dynamics of human capital transfer in a colonial setting. The Colony's relatively high level of human capital overall had implications for what was later to be the richest country on African soil, but the very unequal attainment of numeracy also foreshadowed extreme income inequality.     

Agricultural specialization and height in ancient and medieval Europe

Land per capita was one important determinant of height in the Malthusian world 0 to 1800 A.D. A second factor was specialization in milk cattle agriculture. It had two positive effects on human stature: first, proximity to protein production resulted in a very low local shadow price of milk, as this important foodstuff could not be transported easily. Second, this low price resulted in a low inequality of nutritional status, whereas, for example, tradable pork contributed to nutritional inequality. For this study, we used a data set of more than two million animal bones to measure specialization in cattle and its impact on stature.     

FDI of German Companies During Globalization and Deglobalization

Based on micro-level data of German companies from 1873 to 1927, we identified horizontal and vertical FDI applying a Knowledge-Capital model and analyzed individual FDI decisions. Our KC model revealed that market-driven FDI predominated; however, wage gaps and differences in human capital stimulated cost-driven FDI flows, which accounted for up to 10% of total FDI. On an individual level, large companies with high profitability conducted more FDI. Higher tariffs after WWI enhanced FDI, as companies could circumvent trade barriers—but declining openness reduced FDI. In spite of disintegration after WWI, the propensity to invest increased due to higher market concentration and firm specific investment patterns—albeit industry agglomeration effects were of minor importance.     

Did Partial Globalization Increase Inequality? The Case of the Latin American Periphery, 1950-2000

Inequality is an important threat to the globalization of theworld economy that we experience today. This contribution usesthe coefficient of height variation as a measure of inequality.This indicator covers not only wage recipients, but also theselfemployed, the unemployed, housewives, children, and othergroups who may not participate in a market economy, for theperiod 1950–79, for which income inequality data is mostlyunavailable or inconsistent. It turns out that within-countryinequality is higher in time periods of greater openness. Thisresult is confirmed for the time period 1950–2000, anda much broader model. (JEL I12, I32, N33)     

Determinanten der Strom-und Gaspreisentwicklung in Deutschland — Eine empirische Bestandsaufnahme für die Jahre 1998 bis 2007

The price worthy supply of energy is an indispensable requirement for growth and employment in highly industrialized countries as Germany. For energy intensive production processes — with limited opportunities to accomplish efficiency gains or substitute fuel — energy prices and costs are important determinants for competitiveness. But the other manufacturing sectors and households too, are affected by these high energy costs respectively expenditures, which result in real production losses or correspondingly in cutting back expenditures for non-energetic consumer goods. In view of the strongly increased level of energy prices — the price for crude oil hit the historic peak of $121 per barrel in May 2008 — especially grid bound energy sources as electricity and gas are in focus of the public. A recent study of the EEFA research institute illustrates the determinants of the development of electricity and gas prices in Germany from 1998 to 2007.     

Farmers at the heart of the ‘human capital revolution’? Decomposing the numeracy increase in early modern Europe†

Did the early development of skills and numerical abilities occur primarily in urban centres and among the elite groups of society? This study assesses the human capital of different occupational groups in the early modern period and partially confirms this finding: skilled and professional groups had higher levels of numeracy and literacy than persons in unskilled occupations. However, there was another large group that developed substantial human capital and represented around one‐third of the total population: farmers. By analysing numeracy and literacy evidence from six countries in Europe and Latin America, we argue that farmers contributed significantly to the formation of human capital and, consequently, to modern economic growth.     

Brain drain in the age of mass migration: Does relative inequality explain migrant selectivity?

Brain drain is a core economic policy problem for many developing countries today. Does relative inequality in source and destination countries influence the brain-drain phenomenon? We explore human capital selectivity during the period 1820–1909.We apply age heaping techniques to measure human capital selectivity of international migrants. In a sample of 52 source and five destination countries we find selective migration determined by relative anthropometric inequality in source and destination countries. Other inequality measures confirm this. The results remain robust in OLS and Arellano–Bond approaches. We confirm the Roy–Borjas model of migrant self-selection. Moreover, we find that countries like Germany and UK experienced a small positive effect, because the less educated emigrated in larger numbers.