Taller people earn more money

By siliconindia   |   Thursday, 16 July 2009, 15:29 IST   |    28 Comments
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Taller people earn more money
Bangalore: Taller people are able to earn more money than their shorter counterparts because it is perceived that they are more intelligent and powerful, says a study. According to the study entitled "Does Size Matter in Australia?" published in the Economic Record, researchers have estimated the relationship between hourly wages and two aspects of body size: height and BMI (Body Mass Index), which are based on the data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey. Researchers found that taller people, particularly men, earn more money with every five centimeters of height being worth about A$950 per annum. "Our estimates suggest that if an average man of about 178 centimeters gains an additional five centimeters in height, he would be able to earn an extra A$950 per year. It would be approximately equal to the wage gain from one extra year of labor market experience," said Co-author Andrew Leigh. While there are wage returns to height in Australia, there are no systematic wage penalties for having a higher BMI, reveals the study. Leigh added, "We began the project with a primary interest in whether overweight people were paid less, but eventually realized that the most interesting thing in the data is the relationship between height and wages."