Influence of height on likelihood of employment, occupational sorting, and earnings in 27 post-communist countries

We study the influence of height on labour market outcomes using micro-data from a recent survey that cover 27 post-communist countries. Specifically, we focus on the influence of height on three dimensions of labour market outcome: (1) likelihood of employment, (2) occupational sorting, and (3) earnings.

We use micro-data from 2016 Life-In-Transition survey (LITS) which was jointly conducted by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the World Bank. We run several types of regression to show how height influences (1) likelihood of employment, (2) occupational sorting, and (3) earnings.

When controlling for a comprehensive set of covariates, for each 10 cm increase in height, the probability of getting a job increases by 1% points for males and by 3 for females. Equally, for each 10 cm increase in height, the probability of getting a job increases by 2% points in urban areas and rural areas. Our findings demonstrate that taller women and men are more likely: (a) being an employer rather than an employee; (b) to be employed in higher-paid and more prestigious sectors of finance, insurance, and real estate; (c) to be employed in private enterprises. Finally, when occupational sorting and socio-demographics are controlled for, a 10 cm increase in height results in a 5% increase in earning for men, and a 12% increase in earnings for women.

Using a diverse sample of 27 post-communist countries, we found that taller individuals have better labour market outcomes in terms of employment, occupational sorting, and earnings.