Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant (R) and Phoenix¹ Sun's guard Steve Nash (L) both reach for a rebound² during Game 6 of their NBA Western Conference first round playoff series in Los Angeles, California, in this May 4, 2006 file photo.

While researchers have long shown that tall people earn more than their shorter counterparts, it's not only social discrimination that accounts for this inequality -- tall people are just smarter than their height-challenged peers, a new study finds.

"As early as age three -- before schooling³ has had a chance to play a role -- and throughout childhood, taller children perform significantly better on cognitive⁴ tests," wrote Anne Case and Christina Paxson of Princeton University in a paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research.

The findings were based primarily on two British studies that followed children born in 1958 and 1970, respectively, through adulthood⁵ and a U.S. study on height and occupational choice.

Other studies have pointed⁶ to low self-esteem, better health that accompanies greater height, and social discrimination as culprits for lower pay for shorter people.

But researchers Case and Paxson believe the height advantage in the job world is more than just a question of image.

"As adults, taller individuals are more likely to select into higher paying occupations that require more advanced verbal and numerical skills and greater intelligence, for which they earn handsome returns," they wrote.

For both men and women in the United States and the United Kingdom, a height advantage of four inches equated⁷ with a 10 percent increase in wages on average.

But the researchers said the differences in performance crop up long before the tall people enter the job force. Prenatal care and the time between birth and the age of 3 are critical periods for determining future cognitive ability and height.

"Prenatal care and prenatal nutrition are just incredibly important, even more so than we already knew," Case said in an interview.

Since the study's data only included populations in the United Kingdom and the United States, the findings could not be applied⁸ to other regions, Case said.

And how tall are the researchers?

They are both about 5 feet 8 inches tall, well above the average height of 5 feet 4 inches for American women.

(Agencies)

一直以来，有调查显示，个高的人比个矮的人挣钱多，而最新一项研究发现，这种不平等不仅缘于社会歧视--其实，个高的人比个矮的人要聪明。

普林斯顿大学的安妮·凯丝和克里斯蒂娜·帕克森在美国国家经济研究署刊物上发表文章指出：“个子较高的儿童在接受学校教育之前，甚至从三岁开始一直到整个童年时期，他们在认知测试中的表现都比较突出。”

这些研究结果主要根据英国人所做的两项研究和一项由美国人做的研究而得来，其中，由英国人所做的两项研究分别对1958年和1970年出生孩童的成年期进行了追踪，而美国人的这项研究主要针对的是身高和择业之间的关系。

另有一些研究表明，个子较高的人自尊心不是很强，身体更好；社会歧视是矮个子收入偏低的罪魁祸首。

而凯丝和帕克森则认为，找工作时，身高优势并不只是个形象问题。

她们在文中提到：“个子较高的成年人从事高薪职业的可能性更大，由于高薪职业对人的语言、算术能力、以及智力的要求更高，所以他们挣的钱也很多。”

在美国和英国，无论男性还是女性，拥有4英寸的身高优势就等于薪水平均高10％。

而研究人员称，这些差别早在他们开始工作前就显现出来了。产前护理期以及从出生到三岁这段时间是决定孩子日后的认知能力和身高的关键时期。

凯丝在一次采访中说：“产前护理和产前营养相当重要，甚至比我们想象的还要重要。”

凯丝说，由于此项研究的数据主要针对的是英国和美国的人口，所以研究结果在其它地区不一定适用。

你知道这两位研究人员有多高吗？

她们的身高均为1.72米，大大超过美国女性的平均身高1.62米。