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Socioeconomic and spatial differences in heights in Sweden in late 19th and early 20th century
| This paper investigates the development of socioeconomic and spatial differences in Sweden during industrialization using data on heights, occupation and birth place for conscripts drafted 1901-1938. Socioeconomic differences in height are found generally for the pre-industrial era but they had almost disappeared in Sweden by mid-20th century. The paper uses series on heights by occupational group to study how the biological standards of living changed in the socioeconomic groups over time. The compulsory military service in Sweden during this time period makes the muster rolls excellent source materials for studying socioeconomic inequality. From 1861 onwards occupation was stated in the muster rolls along with information which also makes it possible to control for if the conscript resided in a rural or an urban area. The series can therefore be divided by both occupational group and location. This enables an analysis of how the influence from these two important determinants of biological standards of living changed over time.
Keywords: anthropometry, socioeconomic differences, industrialization, rural-urban spatial differences
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