Does schooling improve cognitive functioning at older ages?

Schneeweis, N., Skirbekk, V., & Winter-Ebmer, R. (2012). Does schooling improve cognitive functioning at older ages? NRN Working Paper, The Austrian Center for Labor Economics and the Analysis of the Welfare State

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Abstract

We study the relationship between education and cognitive functioning at older ages by exploiting compulsory schooling reforms, implemented in six European countries during the 1950s and 1960s. Using data of individuals aged 50+ from the Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), we assess the causal effect of education on old-age memory, fluency, numeracy, orientation and dementia. We find a positive impact of schooling on memory. One year of education increases the delayed memory score by about 0.3, which amounts to 16% of the standard deviation. Furthermore, for women, we find that more education reduces the risk of dementia.

Item Type:	Other
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Compulsory schooling, Instrumental Variables, Education, Cognitive functioning, Memory, Aging, Dementia
Research Programs:	World Population (POP)
Depositing User:	Luke Kirwan
Date Deposited:	31 Jan 2018 13:43
Last Modified:	27 Aug 2021 17:42
URI:	https://pure.iiasa.ac.at/15088

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