Monday

Mostly summarized from Gregory Mankiw’s Principles of Economics, 5th Ed.

PART 9 The Real Economy in the Long Run
Chapter 25 of 36 Production and Growth
Section 14 of 22
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Things government can promote and strengthen to increase productivity and living standards include:
1· saving and investment
2· investment from abroad
3· education
4· health and nutrition
5· property rights and political stability
6· free trade
7· research and development
8· population growth
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4· health and nutrition
Another way to increase human capital is expenditures that help improve population health.
Healthier workers are more productive thereby raising the nation’s living standards.
Economic historian Robert Fogel has estimated in Great Britain in 1780 about 20% of the population were so malnourished they could not do manual labor.
Among those who could work malnutrition substantially reduced the amount of labor they could do.
As nutrition improved so did workers' ability to work and productivity.
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Part of Fogel’s studies is considering the population’s height.
Short stature can indicate malnutrition, especially during gestation and infancy.
He has found as nations economically develop people eat more and the population becomes taller.
From 1775 to 1975 in Great Britain the average caloric consumption rose by 26 percent and the average man’s height rose by 3.6 inches.
During South Korea’s great economic growth in from 1962 to 1995 the average caloric consumption rose by 44 percent and the average man’s height rose by 2 inches.
A person's height is determined by a combination of genetics and environment.
Because a population’s genetic makeup changes slowly relatively sudden increases in average height most likely are due to changes in the environment,
nutrition being the likely explanation.
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Studies have also found height is a productivity indicator.
Researchers have determined taller workers tend to earn more because wages reflect productivity of a worker, this finding suggests taller workers are more productive on average.
The effect of height on wages is more pronounced in poorer countries, where malnutrition is more significant.
In a lecture Fogel gave after he won the economics Nobel Prize in 1993 he surveyed the evidence on health and economic growth and concluded "improved gross nutrition accounts for roughly 30 percent of the growth of per capita income in Britain between 1790 and 1980."
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For people in developing nations poor health and inadequate nutrition remain impediments to higher productivity and improved living standards.
The United Nations has estimated in sub-Saharan Africa about a third of the population is malnourished.
Poor countries can become trapped in a vicious cycle.
They are poor in part because their populations are malnourished and not healthy.
Their populations are not healthy in part because they are poor and cannot afford proper nutrition and healthcare.
But this creates the possibility of a virtuous circle.
Policies that lead to rapid economic growth naturally would improve health outcomes which in turn promote more economic growth.
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"Improved gross nutrition accounts for roughly 30 percent of the growth of per capita income in Britain between 1790 and 1980" - does being overweight adversely affect a person's productivity?
Gemini:
The quote you mentioned refers to the Fogel Hypothesis, which suggests the transition from chronic malnutrition to caloric sufficiency was a massive driver of labor capacity during the Industrial Revolution.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, "improved nutrition" meant having enough energy to perform grueling physical labor for twelve hours a day.
In the modern context, the relationship between nutrition and productivity has shifted from a question of under-nourishment to one of over-nourishment.
Research generally indicates being significantly overweight or obese can adversely affect individual productivity through several distinct channels.
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Direct Impacts on Productivity
Absenteeism:
Individuals with higher Body Mass Index (BMI) levels statistically experience more frequent health issues, leading to more sick days and time away from work.
Presenteeism:
This refers to being physically present at work but performing at a lower capacity due to fatigue, joint pain, or reduced stamina.
Cognitive Function:
Chronic inflammation and insulin resistance, often associated with high body fat, have been linked in some studies to reduced mental clarity and slower processing speeds.
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Indirect Impacts and Workplace Bias
Psychological Well-being:
The stress of managing weight-related health issues can lead to higher rates of burnout and decreased motivation.
Social Stigma:
Sociological studies show that "weight bias" exists in many professional environments, which can lead to lower performance ratings or fewer promotion opportunities regardless of actual output.
The "U-Shaped" Curve:
Economic data often shows a "U-shaped" relationship where both extreme malnutrition and extreme obesity correlate with lower per capita output.
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It is important to distinguish between the gross nutrition Fogel studied and modern over-nutrition.
Fogel’s 30 percent figure accounts for the move from "stunted and wasted" populations to healthy, robust workers.
Today, the economic challenge is no longer about caloric scarcity, but rather the rising healthcare costs and productivity losses associated with being overweight.
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trapped in a vicious cycle
akujunkan ni torawarete