Reaping the Rewards Later: How Education Improves Old-Age Cognition in South Africa

Plamen Nikolov () and Steve Yeh ()
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Plamen Nikolov: State University of New York (at Binghamton)
Steve Yeh: Columbia University

No 2021-045, Working Papers from Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Working Group

Abstract: Cognitive abilities are fundamental for decision-making, and understanding the causes of human capital depreciation in old age is especially important in an aging society. Using a longitudinal labor survey that collects direct proxy measures of cognitive skills, we study the effect of educational attainment on cognitive performance in late adulthood in South Africa. We find robust evidence that an increase in a year of schooling improves memory performance and general cognition. We also find evidence of heterogeneous effects of educational attainment on cognitive performance. We explore the mechanisms through which education can affect cognitive performance. We show that a more supportive social environment, improved health habits, and reduced stress levels likely play a critical role in mediating the beneficial effects of educational attainment on cognition among the elderly.

Keywords: human capital; educational attainment; cognitive performance; developing countries; sub-Saharan Africa (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F63 I21 J14 J24 N37 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021-09
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-age, nep-edu, nep-isf and nep-neu
Note: ECI
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http://humcap.uchicago.edu/RePEc/hka/wpaper/Nikolo ... proves-cognition.pdf First version, September 3, 2021 (application/pdf)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hka:wpaper:2021-045

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