Height and political activism in rural Aragón (Spain) during the 20th century. A new perspective using individual-level data

• Published in: Economics and human biology 2023-12, Vol.51, p.101303-101303, Article 101303
• Main Authors: Marco-Gracia, Francisco J., López-Antón, Margarita
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Height; Inequality; Political activism; Spain; Standard of living
• ISSN: 1570-677X; 1873-6130
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ehb.2023.101303

This article explores the relationship between the political leanings of more than 1000 men born in the 1870–1970 s in 11 rural Aragonese villages and their biological well-being during childhood and adolescence, proxied by height. The aim is to test whether an individual was more likely to be left-wing if his level of biological well-being was lower and, therefore, with more incentives to fight against the social inequality that had negatively affected his family. Our results confirm that, for most of the study period, there was a strong relationship between shorter height and political activism11We understand political activism as the political significance of the individual voluntarily participating in political parties, governments or associations of an unambiguous political tendency. in left-wing parties and organizations. •Historically, left-leaning men tend to be shorter than those who lean to the right.•Since the mid-20th century cohort, the distinction in height diminishes.•Within each SES group, there are also differences in political leaning based on height.