Individuals urbanize when the net benefits to urbanization exceed rural living conditions. Body mass, height, and weight are welfare measures that reflect the net difference between calories consumed and calories required for work and to withstand the physical environment. Nineteenth and early...

When traditional measures for material conditions are scarce or unreliable, body mass, height, and weight are complements to standard income and wealth measures. A persistent question in welfare studies is the 19th century's 2nd and 3rd quarter's stature diminution, a pattern known as the...