Bodenhom, Guinnane, and Mroz (2017) are critical of anthropometric research using based on non-random samples. Declining height trends in military and prison data, they argue, are artifacts of negative selection during favorable labor market conditions. We study height trends in the United States in the antebellum decades, which coincided with the onset of modem economic growth. We find that neither the historical evidence nor their own statistical analysis support their views. The decline in physical stature in the decades before the Civil War was real, as Zimran (2019) has also shown.

中文翻译：

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一个谜题的澄清：美国现代经济增长开始时营养状况的下降

Bodenhom、Gunnane 和 Mroz (2017) 对使用基于非随机样本的人体测量研究持批评态度。他们认为，军队和监狱数据中身高下降趋势是有利劳动力市场条件下负面选择的产物。我们研究了美国在战前几十年的身高趋势，这与现代经济增长的开始相吻合。我们发现，历史证据和他们自己的统计分析都不支持他们的观点。正如 Zimran（2019 年）所显示的那样，内战前几十年的体格下降是真实存在的。