Average male height in Puerto Rico increased by about 4.2 cm from 1890 to 1940, a rate more than twice the regional average; Puerto Ricans at mid-century were among the tallest Latin Americans

Economic Development in Puerto Rico after US Annexation: Anthropometric Evidence. Brian Marein. Economics & Human Biology, May 19 2020, 100892. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ehb.2020.100892

Highlights
• Average male height in Puerto Rico increased by about 4.2 cm. from 1890 to 1940.
• Height increased at a rate more than twice the regional average from 1890 to 1940.
• Puerto Ricans at mid-century were among the tallest Latin Americans.
• The prevailing view that US annexation impoverished Puerto Rico is incorrect.

Abstract: I consider economic development in Puerto Rico following its annexation by the United States in 1898, a watershed moment in the history of the island and the pinnacle of American imperialism in Latin America. Drawing on data from three surveys, I show that male height in Puerto Rico increased at more than twice the average rate for Latin America and the Caribbean between 1890 and 1940. I also show that Puerto Ricans at mid-century were among the tallest Latin Americans outside of Argentina and Uruguay. The evidence supports the conclusion that conditions improved substantially after US annexation, in stark contrast to the prevailing view in the literature.

Keywords: AnthropometricsImperialismEconomic developmentPuerto RicoUnited States