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Revisiting the Effect of Education on Later Life Health

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Abstract

We provide new evidence on the effect of education on later life health. Using variation in state compulsory schooling laws, we examine education's effect on a range of outcomes encompassing physical health, decision-making, and life expectancy. We employ under-utilized Health and Retirement Study data linked to restricted geographic identifiers, allowing us to match individuals more accurately to compulsory schooling laws. While positively related to educational attainment, compulsory schooling laws have no significant effect on later life health outcomes. Our results suggest that increased educational attainment has no significant causal effect on health.

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  • Theodore F. Figinski & Alicia Lloro & Avinash Moorthy, 2022. "Revisiting the Effect of Education on Later Life Health," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2022-007, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    • Handle: RePEc:fip:fedgfe:2022-07
    DOI: 10.17016/FEDS.2022.007
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Compulsory school attendance laws; Returns to education; Human capital; Health; Education policy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H75 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Government: Health, Education, and Welfare
    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • I26 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Returns to Education
    • I28 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Government Policy
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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