Dr. Timothy Cuff, visiting assistant professor of humanities at Westminster College, recently presented a paper at the 13th quadrennial Congress of the International Economic History Association held in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Cuff's research, "Better Boots Mean Shorter Men: The Impact of Market Integration on the Biological Standard of Living, Pennsylvania, 1810-1845," is a continuation of his Ph.D. dissertation research. The paper resulted from the analysis of height data from more than 20,000 enlistment records for Civil War soldiers from Pennsylvania.

"Consistent with other work on countries going through the early stages of market integration, industrialization, and urbanization, Pennsylvanians over the period 1810 to 1845 displayed declining average physical stature, and that decline is most pronounced in those counties displaying the greatest extent of market integration during this period," Cuff said.

Cuff also met with Argentinean college faculty members interested in conducting joint research projects similar to his research. These scholars are interested in using Cuff's regional approach to studying human stature change over time to help evaluate the biological impact of the early phases of modern economic growth on late 19th and early 20th century Argentineans. The possibility of student exchanges as part of this study was also discussed.

Cuff, who has been with Westminster College since 2000, earned his undergraduate degree from Westminster College, his master's from Bowling Green State University, and his Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh.

For more information, contact Cuff at (724) 946-6152 or e-mail cufft@westminster.edu.