TY  - RPRT
        AU  - Nikolov, Plamen
AU  - Yeh, Steve
        TI  - Reaping the Rewards Later: How Education Improves Old-Age Cognition in South Africa
        PY  - 2022/Jul/
        PB  - Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
        CY  - Bonn
        T2  - IZA Discussion Paper
        IS  - 15432
        UR  - https://www.iza.org/publications/dp15432
        AB  - Cognitive performance in late adulthood is critical for better welfare and understanding the causes of human capital depreciation in old age is increasingly crucial in aging societies. Using data from South Africa, we study how early life education affects cognition, a component of human capital critical to decision-making, in late adulthood. We show that an extra year of schooling improves memory and general cognition performance. We detect heterogeneous treatment effects by gender: the effects are stronger among women. We explore mechanisms and show that a more supportive social environment, improved health habits, and reduced stress levels are likely mediators for the beneficial effects of increased educational attainment on old-age cognition.
        KW  - human capital
KW  - educational attainment
KW  - cognitive performance
KW  - developing countries
KW  - aging
KW  - sub-Saharan Africa
        ER  -