Taller men earn more

A UK paper reports on an Australian study:

An extra couple of inches can add nearly £500 a year to a man's salary – a pay rise equivalent to an extra 12 months' experience.

A 6ft tall man can expect 1.5 per cent more than a workmate who is 5ft 10 ins. However, female workers would need an advantage of 4 ins to get a similar boost in earnings over colleagues. ...

He said that while size could be an advantage in some jobs like a taller shop assistant being able to reach a top shelf without a ladder, or a slimmer construction worker being able to move around the building site more rapidly.

But he felt that the most likely explanation was down to feelings that taller people commanded more respect and discrimination against short people.

"Perhaps this has to do with status – having greater respect for taller people might be inadvertently leading to higher wages," he said.

"Or perhaps it is because of discrimination, with shorter people getting the same treatment in the labour market as women and minorities have experienced in the past."

The study also found fat people no longer earn less than their skinnier colleagues – possibly because so many people are now overweight.

There are other explanations besides discrimination.

He said that taller boys may be more confident as height affects things like participating in clubs and athletics, and those confidence-boosting activities as a youth lead to earning power as an adult.

Yes, that is a possibility. It is also possible that taller men are healthier and smarter.