The ups and downs of Mexican economic growth: the biological standard of living and inequality, 1870-1950.

The secular change in the biological standard of living of the Mexican population between 1870 and 1950 is examined based on evidence on the physical stature from military and passport records. While Mexico industrialized and experienced rapid economic growth during this period, there was only a modest overall improvement in the height, health and nutritional status of the Mexican population. The average Mexican born in the 1940s was not only slightly taller than its compatriot of the 1870s. There were, however, considerable social differences: the Mexican upper class was markedly taller than the working class and the gap increased prior to the revolution. Economic growth with systemic inequality largely accounts for such a pattern.