A Note on Height and Surnames: The Role of Networks

Many studies indicate that human height is determined largely by childhood
circumstances, which in turn influences an adult’s labor market opportunities. The aim
of this note is to test this thesis by examining the correlation between childhood
circumstances and labor market outcomes on the one hand, and heights on the other,
when networks are included as proxied by surnames. The fact that, after the inclusion
of this surname proxy, we find a correlation only between height and labor market
outcomes suggests that while childhood circumstances affect height largely via social
status and networks as captured by surnames, the same does not apply for labor
market outcomes.