Washington, July 13 (ANI): Taller men are able to earn more money than their shorter counterparts, according to a study.

The study suggests that taller people make more money simply because they are perceived to be more intelligent and powerful.The study, conducted in Australia, found that men who are 6-foot tall had annual incomes nearly 1,000 dollars more than men two inches shorter.

“Our estimates suggest that if the average man of about 178 centimetres [5 feet 10 inches] gains an additional five centimetres [2 inches] in height, he would be able to earn an extra 950 dollars per year - which is approximately equal to the wage gain from one extra year of labour market experience,” Live Science quoted study co-author Andrew Leigh, an economist at the Australian National University, as saying.

Arianne Cohen, author of ‘The Tall Book’ said: “The truth is, tall people do make more money. They make 789 dollars more per inch per year.”

Cohen says there’s nothing else that differentiates these people other than their height.

“They’re not nicer. They’re not prettier. They’re not anything else. But they’ve sort of gotten a halo in society at this point,” Cohen said.

Cohen crafted out her book using a 2003 review of four large U.S. and UK studies led by Timothy Judge, a management professor at the University of Florida.

Judge and his colleague concluded that someone who is 7 inches taller - for example, 6 feet versus 5 feet 5 inches - would be expected to earn 5,525 dollars more per year.

Height was found to be more important than gender in determining income and its significance doesn’t decline with age.

Judge said that being tall might boost self-confidence, helping to make a person more successful and also prompting people to ascribe more status and respect to the tall person.

Of course all such studies generate averages. A shorter person can certainly beat the odds, and not every tall person is raking it in.

Cohen says the pay advantage is conferred partly because taller people tend to exude leadership.

“Tall people tend to act like a leader from a very young age because other children relate to them like a slightly older peer. In the workplace, when you’re automatically acting as a leader, that’s really important when it comes time for promotion,” she said.

The study has been published in The Economic Record by Wiley-Blackwell. (ANI)