Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/71342 
Authors: 
Year of Publication: 
2010
Series/Report no.: 
UCD Centre for Economic Research Working Paper Series No. WP10/36
Publisher: 
University College Dublin, UCD School of Economics, Dublin
Abstract: 
This paper uses a cross-country representative sample of Europeans over the age of 50 to analyse whether individuals' height is associated with higher or lower levels of well-being. Two outcomes are used: a measure of depression symptoms reported by individuals and a categorical measure of life satisfaction. It is shown that there is a concave relationship between height and symptoms of depression. These results are sensitive to the inclusion of several sets of controls reflecting demographics, human capital and health status. While parsimonious models suggest that height is protective against depression, the addition of controls, particularly related to health, suggests the reverse effect: tall people are predicted to have slightly more symptoms of depression. Height has no significant association with life satisfaction in models with controls for health and human capital.
Subjects: 
Height
Depression
Well-being
Life satisfaction
Health
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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