DID SMALLPOX REDUCE HEIGHT - STATURE AND THE STANDARD-OF-LIVING IN LONDON, 1770-1873

This article examines the effect of smallpox on the height attained by those who suffered from this disease. To this end, the authors analys e a dataset assembled by Floud, Wachter, and Gregory on the height of recruits into the Marine Society, 1770-1873. Using both time series an d cross-sectional analysis, it is shown that smallpox was indeed an im portant determinant of height; those who had suffered from smallpox we re significantly shorter. This suggests that the increase in heights d ocumented by Floud et al. may be explained not just by increased nutri tional intake, but also by the eradication of smallpox.