T HE OUTLINE OF THIS DISSERTATION PROJECT

Theses projects addresses fundamental question in anthropometric history and the discussion of the economic growth and may help to enlarge our understanding of standard of living. The thesis comprises four sections that are intended for separate publication. Two of these sections are co-authored. Each of the manuscripts represents a single chapter. The ultimate product of this thesis is a series of research papers describing the long-run development of height and relating the economic implications of oil production to the changes in height. Finally, the project presents evidence on the Quality-Quantity trade-off in Iran and Iraq.

The collection began with an article published in the journal Exploration in Economic History in 2009. This article provides height trends for eight Middle Eastern countries from 1850-1910. This section highlights some of the differences in height development in the Muslim world.

The second section of the thesis examines anthropometric data for Indonesia, which has the largest Muslim population in the world. We found three distinct phases in the long-run trend in Indonesian mean heights. The first phase involved a significant decline in 1870s, the second involved a modest increase over the next three decades and the third phase involved accelerating height growth after World War II.

The third section of the thesis emphasizes particular resource related aspects. Natural resource revenues increase wealth and purchasing power; hence, an abundance of resources may be expected to raise an economy’s investment, growth rates and standard of living. Much of the debate surrounding the dismal economic position of Middle Eastern countries has focused on oil production. This chapter devotes particular attention to the oil producing countries of the Middle East and their height development.

The fifth section of this thesis analyzes human capital formation in Iran and Iraq and the origins of reduced fertility. Quality-Quantity trade-off processes capture important aspects of human welfare and economic growth. Changes in demographic patterns imply that parents select a quantity of children to optimize their quality (Becker, Tamura and Murphy 1990). To illuminate the endogenous factors of child quantity and quality, an instrumental variable (IV) approach is used in this section.

Section six, the last chapter in this thesis, summarizes the main findings.

References

Bakhtiari S., Meisami ,H., (2010),"An empirical investigation of the effects of health and education on income distribution and poverty in Islamic countries", International Journal of Social Economics, 37 (4) pp. 293 – 301.

Baten, J., (1999). Ernaehrung und wirtschaftliche Entwicklung in Bayern 1730-1880. Stuttgart:

Steiner.

Baten, J., (2006). Global Height Trends in Industrial and Developing Countries, 1810-1984: An Overview. Tuebingen Working Paper.

Baten, J. (2009). Protein supply and nutritional status in nineteenth century Bavaria, Prussia and France. Econ.Hum. Biol. Volume 7, (2) pp. 165–180.

Baten, J., Stegl, M. (2009). Tall and Shrinking Muslims, Short and Growing Europeans: The Long Run Welfare Development of the Middle East, 1850-1980 in Explorations in Economic History 46, pp. 132-148.

Baten, J., Blum, M. (2012) Growing Taller, but Unequal: Biological Well-Being in World Regions and Its Determinants, 1810-1989, with Matthias Blum, Economic History of Developing Regions (forthcoming 2012).

Becker G.S., Murphy K.M., Tamura R.(1990). Human capital, fertility, and economic growth - Journal of Political Economy, 98, ( 5): 12-37.

Floud, R., Wachter, K., Gregory, A., (1990). Height, Health and History. Cambridge University Press.

Floud, R., Fogel, Robert W., Harris, B., and Hong; S. C. (2011) ‘Health, Nutrition, and Human Development in the Western World Since 1700’. (Cambridge University Press).

Griffin, R. (Ed.) (2006). Education in the Muslim World: Different Perspectives.

Symposium Books. (Cambridge University Press).

Issawi, C., 1995. The Middle East Economy: Decline and Recovery. Princeton: Markus Wiener.

Komlos, John (1985). Stature and Nutrition in the Habsburg Monarchy: The Standard of Living and Economic Development in the Eighteenth Century, American Historical Review 90 (5), 1149-61.

Komlos, J., Baten, J. eds. (1998). The Biological Standard of Living in Comparative Perspective.

Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag.

Komlos, J., Hau, M., and Bourguinat, N. (2003). The Anthropometric History of Early- Modern France. Europ. Rev. Econ. Hist. 7,2, 159-190.

Lucas R. E. (1988). On The Mechanics of Economic Development. Journal of Monetary Economics 22 (1988) 3-42.

Najmabadi, A. (1987). Land Reform and Social Change in Iran. University of Utah Press Salt Lake City.

Owen, R., Pamuk S., (1999). A history of Middle East economies in the twentieth century.

Cambridge, MA: Haverd University Press.

Pamuk, S. (2006). Estimating Economic Growth in the Middle East since 1820. The Journal of Economic History, 66 No. 3 pp. 809-828.

Singerman, D. and brahim B. (2001). The Cost of Marriage in Egypt: A Hidden Variable in the New Arab Demography and Poverty Research. Special Edition on “The New Arab Family,” Nick Hopkins. ed., Cairo Papers in the Social Sciences, 24 (Spring): 80-116.

Singerman, D. (2007). The Economic Imperatives of Marriage: Emerging Practices and Identities among Youth in the Middle East. Wolfensohn Center for Development Dubai School of

Government working Paper.

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Steckel, R. H., (2009). Height and human welfare: Recent development and new directions.

Explorations in Economic History 46 (1), pp. 1-23.

Yousef, T. M., (2004. Development, Growth and Policy Reform in the Middle East and North Africa since 950. Journal of Economic Perpective. 18 (3), pp. 91-116.

Tables

Table 1: World Development Indicators

Country Name Indicator Name 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

Middle East & North Africa (all income levels) Adjusted net enrollment rate, primary (% of primary school age children) 60 73 82 86 94

Middle East & North Africa (all income levels) School enrollment, primary (% gross) 72 86 94 98 104

Middle East & North Africa (all income levels) GDP per capita, PPP (constant 2005 international $) 7217 6362 7605 9491

Middle East & North Africa (all income levels) Life expectancy at birth, total (years) 46 53 58 65 70 72

Middle East & North Africa (all income levels) Mortality rate, infant (per 1,000 live births) 171 129 84 51 36 25

Middle East & North Africa (all income levels) Fertility rate, total (births per woman) 7 7 6 5 3 3

OECD members Adjusted net enrollment rate, primary (% of primary school age children) 89 95 97 98 98

OECD members School enrollment, primary (% gross) 100 105 105 103 105

OECD members GDP per capita, PPP (constant 2005 international $) 18012 22660 27421 30036

OECD members Life expectancy at birth, total (years) 67 69 72 75 77 79

OECD members Mortality rate, infant (per 1,000 live births) 56 40 27 17 11 7

OECD members Fertility rate, total (births per woman) 3 3 2 2 2 2

High income: OECD Adjusted net enrollment rate, primary (% of primary school age children) 91 95 97 98 98

High income: OECD School enrollment, primary (% gross) 100 102 103 102 103

High income: OECD GDP per capita, PPP (constant 2005 international $) 19411 24920 30428 33448

High income: OECD Life expectancy at birth, total (years) 69 71 73 76 78 80

High income: OECD Mortality rate, infant (per 1,000 live births) 36 22 13 8 6 5

High income: OECD Fertility rate, total (births per woman) 3 2 2 2 2 2

Source: World Development Indicators, 2011

2. Tall and Shrinking Muslims, Short and Growing