This paper develops a bio-economic Malthusian growth model. By integrating recent research on allometric scaling, energy consumption, and ontogenetic growth we provide a model where subsistence consumption is endogenously linked to body mass and fertility. The theory admits a two-dimensional...

By using a new source of 19th century Texas state prison records, the present study contrasts the biological living conditions of comparable blacks and whites in the American South between the Civil War and Reconstruction. White stature exceeded black stature. Between 1850 and 1870, black...

Wie schon im ifo Schelldienst 11/2001 berichtet, nähert sich die Körpergröße junger Männer (auf der Basis des Gesundheitsurveys 1998) in den neuen und alten Bundesländern schnell an. Prof. John Komlos Ph.D. und Marieluise Baur, Universität München, untermauern dies mit neuen Zahlen.

We use the Islamic holy month of Ramadan as a natural experiment in fasting and fetal health. In Michigan births 1989-2006, we and prenatal exposure to Ramadan among Arab mothers results in lower birthweight and reduced gestation length. Exposure to Ramadan in the first month of gestation is...

We show that as household size increases, households substitute away from prepared foods and towards ingredients. They also devote more time to food preparation. These observations (1) are consistent with a simple model with home production, returns to scale in the time input to food...

This paper provides non-parametric estimates of the relation between nutrient intake and age for Czechoslovak individuals, as a function of characteristics of both the individual and the household she lives in, on the basis of household purchases. Results show no significant difference between...

The paper is a documentation of a (non-representative) survey on the food situation of households in the Grodno region, Belarus. It covers the year between September 2000 and August 2001. The focus of the survey was on the sources of food in the households (purchase, own production, and receipt...

Die Literaturanalyse sichtet Veröffentlichungen zum Thema Armut und Ernährung mit Schwerpunkt im Zeitraum von etwa 1980 bis 1994. Nach einer theoretischen Fundierung des Themas werden repräsentative Studien und qualitative Untersuchungen über Ernährungszustand und ernährungsabhängigen...

This paper offers the first anthropometric estimates on the biological standard of living in central Europe in the first millennium, and expands the literature on the second millenium. The overall picture is one of stagnant heights. There was not much progress in European nutritional status, not...