Max Blum
Biographic Data
| ID | 300192 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Max Blum |
| GIVEN NAMES | Max |
| FAMILY NAME | Blum |
| SIGNATURE | BLUM M |
| AFFILIATIONS | Technical University of Munich |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-4129-9873 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 19 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 61 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 19 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2000 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
The decline of child stunting in 122 countries
INTRODUCTION: Child stunting, a measure of malnutrition, is a major global health challenge affecting 148.1 million children in 2022. Global stunting rates have declined from 47.2% in 1985 to 22.3% in 2022; however, trends before the mid-1980s are unclear, including whether child stunting was previously prevalent in current high-income countries (HICs). We conducted a systematic review of child growth studies before 1990 to reconstruct historical…
The political effects of the 1918 influenza pandemic in Weimar Germany
How did the 1918 Influenza pandemic affect elections in Weimar Germany? We combine a panel of election results (1893–1933) with spatial heterogeneity in excess flu mortality to assess the pandemic’s effect on voting behavior across constituencies. Applying a dynamic differences-in-differences approach, we find that areas with higher influenza mortality saw a lasting shift towards leftwing parties. We argue that pandemic intensity increased the sa…
Scarring and Selection in the Great Irish Famine
How do famines shape the health of survivors? We examine the long-term impact of the Great Irish Famine (1845-52) on human stature, distinguishing between adverse scarring effects and the apparent resilience of survivors due to selection. Using anthropometric data from more than 14500 individuals born before, during, and after this famine, we find that selection effects were most pronounced in areas with the highest mortality rates. Individuals b…
Wesen des Christentums
Human capital transfer of German‐speaking migrants in eastern Europe, 1780s–1820s
Prior to the ‘Age of Mass Migration’, Germans left central Europe to settle primarily in modern‐day Hungary, Serbia, Romania, Ukraine, and Russia. Despite the harsh conditions that the first generation of settlers had to endure, their descendants often fared better, rather than worse, compared to native population groups. This study offers a possible explanation for this surprising outcome. It makes use of data on approximately 11 500 individuals…
Anthropometric History
This research note updates Cormac Ó Gráda's (1996) critical review of the literature on the connection between the stature of the Irish, on the one hand, and their health and living standards, on the other. We find most of the anthropometric data sets used in this literature pertain to Irish emigrants rather than those who stayed behind. We therefore argue prison registers are a more appropriate source of anthropometric information. But results d…
Living standards and inequality in the industrial revolution
Age heaping and numeracy
Age-heaping-based numeracy indicators have served as valuable tools to derive basic human capital estimates, especially for periods where other indicators are unavailable. However, the accuracy of individual age statements usually remains unknown, and due to the lack of precise information it can only be assumed that excessive occurrence of multiples of five in age distributions reflects inferior numerical skills. This article addresses this lacu…
Women of an uncertain age
Geary and Stark find that Ireland's post-Famine per capita GDP converged with British levels, and that this convergence was largely due to total factor productivity growth rather than mass emigration. In this article, new long-run measurements of human capital accumulation in Ireland are devised in order to facilitate a better assessment of sources of this productivity growth, including the relative contribution of men and women. This is done by …
Inequality and Heights
This chapter discusses opportunities and limitations of height inequality, especially the role of social status and income distribution in determining height inequality. The more unequal the income distribution in a society, the more unequal the corresponding height distribution. At one time, the height gap between rich and poor teenagers in industrializing England was as high as 22 cm (8.7 inches); today, height inequality tends to be much lower…
Estimating male and female height inequality
Der deutsche Lebensstandard während des Ersten Weltkrieges in historischer Perspektive
After the outbreak of war in 1914 and the subsequent blockade implemented by British navy, the German economy faced serious food shortages leading to famine-like conditions, especially towards the end of the war. As a response to these shortages, the German authorities introduced and implemented socialist policies such as price ceilings and food rations. This study focuses on the inefficient use of highquality foodstuffs by members of lower socia…
Cultural and Genetic Influences on the “Biological Standard of Living”
This study suggests an improvement of a popular measure of living standards, namely the biological standard of living. One influence on it is a population's consumption pattern. Since there are different dietary patterns all over the world, researchers estimate the influences of national diets on final average male height. These habits are predominantly related to income, but also to genetics, cultural history, and decisions regarding whether to …
War, food rationing, and socioeconomic inequality in Germany during the First World War
Germany experienced a devastating period during the First World War due to severely restricted import possibilities and a general shortage of foodstuffs. This study uses the heights of some 4,000 individuals who served during the Second World War to quantify biological living standards from the 1900s to the 1920s, and focuses primarily on socioeconomic inequality during this period. The results suggest that generally the upper social strata, meas…
The influence of inequality on the standard of living
Growing Tall but Unequal
This is the first initiative to collate the entire body of anthropometric evidence during the 19th and 20th centuries, on a global scale. By providing a comprehensive dataset on global height developments we are able to emphasize an alternative view of the history of human well-being and a basis for understanding characteristics of well-being in 156 countries, 1810–1989
Government decisions before and during the First World War and the living standards in Germany during a drastic natural experiment
Projeto Genoma Humano
The Buhl Burial
Green et al.'s (1998) recent contention that the Buhl Paleoindian craniofacial attributes are similar to other North American Indians and East Asian populations is tested here through a principal components analysis based on 16 cranial measurements. The analysis involved the comparison of the cranial morphology of the Buhl specimen with 26 Howells' modern populations. We also added to the analysis the craniometric data regarding a firmly establis…
Growing Tall but Unequal
This is the first initiative to collate the entire body of anthropometric evidence during the 19th and 20th centuries, on a global scale. By providing a comprehensive dataset on global height developments we are able to emphasize an alternative view of the history of human well-being and a basis for understanding characteristics of well-being in 156 countries, 1810–1989
Projeto Genoma Humano
Women of an uncertain age
Geary and Stark find that Ireland's post-Famine per capita GDP converged with British levels, and that this convergence was largely due to total factor productivity growth rather than mass emigration. In this article, new long-run measurements of human capital accumulation in Ireland are devised in order to facilitate a better assessment of sources of this productivity growth, including the relative contribution of men and women. This is done by …
Government decisions before and during the First World War and the living standards in Germany during a drastic natural experiment
War, food rationing, and socioeconomic inequality in Germany during the First World War
Germany experienced a devastating period during the First World War due to severely restricted import possibilities and a general shortage of foodstuffs. This study uses the heights of some 4,000 individuals who served during the Second World War to quantify biological living standards from the 1900s to the 1920s, and focuses primarily on socioeconomic inequality during this period. The results suggest that generally the upper social strata, meas…
The Buhl Burial
Green et al.'s (1998) recent contention that the Buhl Paleoindian craniofacial attributes are similar to other North American Indians and East Asian populations is tested here through a principal components analysis based on 16 cranial measurements. The analysis involved the comparison of the cranial morphology of the Buhl specimen with 26 Howells' modern populations. We also added to the analysis the craniometric data regarding a firmly establis…
Age heaping and numeracy
Age-heaping-based numeracy indicators have served as valuable tools to derive basic human capital estimates, especially for periods where other indicators are unavailable. However, the accuracy of individual age statements usually remains unknown, and due to the lack of precise information it can only be assumed that excessive occurrence of multiples of five in age distributions reflects inferior numerical skills. This article addresses this lacu…
Cultural and Genetic Influences on the “Biological Standard of Living”
This study suggests an improvement of a popular measure of living standards, namely the biological standard of living. One influence on it is a population's consumption pattern. Since there are different dietary patterns all over the world, researchers estimate the influences of national diets on final average male height. These habits are predominantly related to income, but also to genetics, cultural history, and decisions regarding whether to …
The political effects of the 1918 influenza pandemic in Weimar Germany
How did the 1918 Influenza pandemic affect elections in Weimar Germany? We combine a panel of election results (1893–1933) with spatial heterogeneity in excess flu mortality to assess the pandemic’s effect on voting behavior across constituencies. Applying a dynamic differences-in-differences approach, we find that areas with higher influenza mortality saw a lasting shift towards leftwing parties. We argue that pandemic intensity increased the sa…
Anthropometric History
This research note updates Cormac Ó Gráda's (1996) critical review of the literature on the connection between the stature of the Irish, on the one hand, and their health and living standards, on the other. We find most of the anthropometric data sets used in this literature pertain to Irish emigrants rather than those who stayed behind. We therefore argue prison registers are a more appropriate source of anthropometric information. But results d…
Projeto Genoma Humano
The Buhl Burial
Green et al.'s (1998) recent contention that the Buhl Paleoindian craniofacial attributes are similar to other North American Indians and East Asian populations is tested here through a principal components analysis based on 16 cranial measurements. The analysis involved the comparison of the cranial morphology of the Buhl specimen with 26 Howells' modern populations. We also added to the analysis the craniometric data regarding a firmly establis…
Government decisions before and during the First World War and the living standards in Germany during a drastic natural experiment
The influence of inequality on the standard of living
Growing Tall but Unequal
This is the first initiative to collate the entire body of anthropometric evidence during the 19th and 20th centuries, on a global scale. By providing a comprehensive dataset on global height developments we are able to emphasize an alternative view of the history of human well-being and a basis for understanding characteristics of well-being in 156 countries, 1810–1989
Estimating male and female height inequality
Der deutsche Lebensstandard während des Ersten Weltkrieges in historischer Perspektive
After the outbreak of war in 1914 and the subsequent blockade implemented by British navy, the German economy faced serious food shortages leading to famine-like conditions, especially towards the end of the war. As a response to these shortages, the German authorities introduced and implemented socialist policies such as price ceilings and food rations. This study focuses on the inefficient use of highquality foodstuffs by members of lower socia…
Cultural and Genetic Influences on the “Biological Standard of Living”
This study suggests an improvement of a popular measure of living standards, namely the biological standard of living. One influence on it is a population's consumption pattern. Since there are different dietary patterns all over the world, researchers estimate the influences of national diets on final average male height. These habits are predominantly related to income, but also to genetics, cultural history, and decisions regarding whether to …
War, food rationing, and socioeconomic inequality in Germany during the First World War
Germany experienced a devastating period during the First World War due to severely restricted import possibilities and a general shortage of foodstuffs. This study uses the heights of some 4,000 individuals who served during the Second World War to quantify biological living standards from the 1900s to the 1920s, and focuses primarily on socioeconomic inequality during this period. The results suggest that generally the upper social strata, meas…
Inequality and Heights
This chapter discusses opportunities and limitations of height inequality, especially the role of social status and income distribution in determining height inequality. The more unequal the income distribution in a society, the more unequal the corresponding height distribution. At one time, the height gap between rich and poor teenagers in industrializing England was as high as 22 cm (8.7 inches); today, height inequality tends to be much lower…
Women of an uncertain age
Geary and Stark find that Ireland's post-Famine per capita GDP converged with British levels, and that this convergence was largely due to total factor productivity growth rather than mass emigration. In this article, new long-run measurements of human capital accumulation in Ireland are devised in order to facilitate a better assessment of sources of this productivity growth, including the relative contribution of men and women. This is done by …
Age heaping and numeracy
Age-heaping-based numeracy indicators have served as valuable tools to derive basic human capital estimates, especially for periods where other indicators are unavailable. However, the accuracy of individual age statements usually remains unknown, and due to the lack of precise information it can only be assumed that excessive occurrence of multiples of five in age distributions reflects inferior numerical skills. This article addresses this lacu…
Living standards and inequality in the industrial revolution
Human capital transfer of German‐speaking migrants in eastern Europe, 1780s–1820s
Prior to the ‘Age of Mass Migration’, Germans left central Europe to settle primarily in modern‐day Hungary, Serbia, Romania, Ukraine, and Russia. Despite the harsh conditions that the first generation of settlers had to endure, their descendants often fared better, rather than worse, compared to native population groups. This study offers a possible explanation for this surprising outcome. It makes use of data on approximately 11 500 individuals…
Anthropometric History
This research note updates Cormac Ó Gráda's (1996) critical review of the literature on the connection between the stature of the Irish, on the one hand, and their health and living standards, on the other. We find most of the anthropometric data sets used in this literature pertain to Irish emigrants rather than those who stayed behind. We therefore argue prison registers are a more appropriate source of anthropometric information. But results d…
Wesen des Christentums
The political effects of the 1918 influenza pandemic in Weimar Germany
How did the 1918 Influenza pandemic affect elections in Weimar Germany? We combine a panel of election results (1893–1933) with spatial heterogeneity in excess flu mortality to assess the pandemic’s effect on voting behavior across constituencies. Applying a dynamic differences-in-differences approach, we find that areas with higher influenza mortality saw a lasting shift towards leftwing parties. We argue that pandemic intensity increased the sa…
Scarring and Selection in the Great Irish Famine
How do famines shape the health of survivors? We examine the long-term impact of the Great Irish Famine (1845-52) on human stature, distinguishing between adverse scarring effects and the apparent resilience of survivors due to selection. Using anthropometric data from more than 14500 individuals born before, during, and after this famine, we find that selection effects were most pronounced in areas with the highest mortality rates. Individuals b…
The decline of child stunting in 122 countries
INTRODUCTION: Child stunting, a measure of malnutrition, is a major global health challenge affecting 148.1 million children in 2022. Global stunting rates have declined from 47.2% in 1985 to 22.3% in 2022; however, trends before the mid-1980s are unclear, including whether child stunting was previously prevalent in current high-income countries (HICs). We conducted a systematic review of child growth studies before 1990 to reconstruct historical…
Economics (12 works) · Political science (9 works) · Demographic economics (8 works) · Demography (8 works) · Geography (8 works) · Historical Economic and Social Studies (8 works) · Sociology (8 works) · Economic growth (6 works) · Mathematics (6 works) · Demography (5 works)