The impact of height on female employment--evidence from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

• Main Authors: Ciao-Lun Lin, 林巧倫
• Other Authors: 胡登淵
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2014
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/tj8sz9

碩士 === 淡江大學 === 產業經濟學系碩士班 === 102 === Tall people are more likely to be perceived as having professional status and leadership than shorter ones. Most existing studies explore height affecting wage but provide less discussion on the relation between height and employment. Pervious work on the height premium has largely focused on males. This study, hence, examines the impact of height on female employment and occupational choice after controlling for nutrient intakes. Unlike previous literature, this study uses models with a flexible distribution assumption. They are seminonparametric model and two-stage seminonparametric model with sample selection respectively. It analyzes female data that come from the 2005-2006 and 2007-2008 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). To take the potential endogeneity of height and nutrient intakes into account, this paper uses a dummy variable reflecting “ the frequency of drinking milk on 5~12 years old” and the instrumental variables proposed by Lewbel as our instrumental variables. It then uses Control function approach. The results indicate height has no significant effect on overall female employment. The calories intakes have no significant effect on female employment either. The estimate of coefficient of protein intakes is negative but is only significant at ten-percent level. Taller women are more likely to enter white-collar professional occupation and white-collar other occupation, while the marginal effects appear to be concave, especially for white-collar other occupation. Shorter women are more likely to enter blue-collar occupation, while the marginal effects appear to be convex. With respect to nutrient intakes, calories intakes raise the possibility of entering blue-collar while protein intakes raise the possibility of entering white-collar professional occupation. These results may reflect that diet quality can enhance productivity in occupation needing intelligence and calories can enhance productivity in occupation needing strength. Neither of the nutrient intakes has significant effect on the possibility of entering white-collar other occupation.