The physical well-being of Indigenous communities in the Pacific Northwest: Anthropometric evidence from British Columbia’s jails, 1864–1913

2024/10/23 by Kris Inwood, Ian Keay · 2 voices
Economics, Econometrics and Finance · Social Sciences · #Historical Economic and Social Studies #Historical and Cultural Archaeology Studies #Canadian Identity and History

paper · doi:10.1016/j.ehb.2024.101442

Abstract

This paper documents the height of Indigenous men from the Pacific Northwest who were incarcerated in British Columbia's jails during a period of colonization and increasing market access. The average height of adults from a given community reflects the standard of living in that community at the time the adults were growing to maturity. After correcting for the impact of sample selection arising from prisoners' personal attributes, their home communities' access to market opportunities, and unobserved height determinants associated with exposure to the colonial criminal justice system, we find that Indigenous men were positively selected into incarceration based on their height. Moreover, the tendency for the tallest men to be incarcerated became stronger over our period of study. Our results suggest that Indigenous communities in the Pacific Northwest were at a severe bioeconomic disadvantage during the nineteenth century, and their well-being did not improve as market access and colonial institutions spread through the region.

Citations

• Wage Discrimination: Reduced Form and Structural Estimates
• Sample Selection Bias as a Specification Error

Discussions

• New paper with Ian Keay shows that taller Indigenous men in 19th century British Columbia were more likely to be incarcerated. This tendency, which strengthened over 1864-1913, is surprising b/c most [bsky, 22 points, 1 comments]
• Just accepted: "The Physical Well-Being of Indigenous Communities in the Pacific Northwest: Anthropometric Evidence from British Columbia’s Jails, 1864-1913", by Inwood and Keay. Link: doi.org/10.1016 [bsky, 2 points, 0 comments]

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