Height and life satisfaction: Evidence from 27 nations

To evaluate the effect of height on life satisfaction.

We use data from a recent multi-country survey that was conducted in 27 nations.

Our main finding is that height does have a strong positive effect on life satisfaction. These findings remain positive and significant when we use a comprehensive set of well-known covariates of life-satisfaction at both the individual and country levels. These findings also remain robust to alternative statistical specifications.

From a theoretical standpoint, our findings suggest that height is important in explaining life-satisfaction independent of other well-known determinants. From a methodological standpoint, the findings of this study highlight the need to explicitly control for the effect of heights in studies on subjective well-being, happiness, and life-satisfaction.