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The causal effects of education on health outcomes in the UK Biobank

Author

Listed:
  • Neil M. Davies

    (University of Bristol
    University of Bristol)

  • Matt Dickson

    (University of Bath)

  • George Davey Smith

    (University of Bristol
    University of Bristol)

  • Gerard J. van den Berg

    (University of Bristol
    University of Bristol)

  • Frank Windmeijer

    (University of Bristol
    University of Bristol)

Abstract

Educated people are generally healthier, have fewer comorbidities and live longer than people with less education1–3. Much of the evidence about the effects of education comes from observational studies, which can be affected by residual confounding. Natural experiments, such as laws that increase the minimum school leaving age, are a potentially more robust source of evidence about the causal effects of education. Previous studies have exploited this natural experiment using population-level administrative data to investigate mortality, and surveys to investigate the effect on morbidity1, 2,4. Here, we add to the evidence using data from a large sample from the UK Biobank 5 . We exploit the raising of the minimum school leaving age in the UK in September 1972 as a natural experiment 6 . We used a regression discontinuity design to investigate the causal effects of remaining in school. We found consistent evidence that remaining in school causally reduced the risk of diabetes and mortality in all specifications.

Suggested Citation

  • Neil M. Davies & Matt Dickson & George Davey Smith & Gerard J. van den Berg & Frank Windmeijer, 2018. "The causal effects of education on health outcomes in the UK Biobank," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 2(2), pages 117-125, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nathum:v:2:y:2018:i:2:d:10.1038_s41562-017-0279-y
    DOI: 10.1038/s41562-017-0279-y
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    Cited by:

    1. Markus Gehrsitz & Morgan C. Williams, "undated". "The Effects of Compulsory Schooling on Health and Hospitalization over the Life Cycle," Working Papers 2303, University of Strathclyde Business School, Department of Economics, revised May 2020.
    2. Markus Sauerberg, 2020. "The Role of Education for Assessing Population Health: An Analysis of Healthy Life Expectancy by Educational Attainment for 16 European Countries," VID Working Papers 2005, Vienna Institute of Demography (VID) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna.
    3. Vikesh Amin & Jere R. Behrman & Jason M. Fletcher & Carlos A. Flores & Alfonso Flores-Lagunes & Hans-Peter Kohler, 2022. "Does Schooling Improve Cognitive Abilities at Older Ages: Causal Evidence from Nonparametric Bounds," PIER Working Paper Archive 22-016, Penn Institute for Economic Research, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania.
    4. Jochim, Janina & Cluver, Lucie D. & Meinck, Franziska, 2021. "Learner pregnancy in South Africa’s Eastern Cape: The Factors affecting adolescent girls' school withdrawal during pregnancy," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    5. Tatjana Begerow & Hendrik Jürges, 2022. "Does compulsory schooling affect health? Evidence from ambulatory claims data," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 23(6), pages 953-968, August.
    6. Grytten, Jostein & Skau, Irene & Sørensen, Rune, 2020. "Who dies early? Education, mortality and causes of death in Norway," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 245(C).
    7. Joël Coste & José M Valderas & Laure Carcaillon-Bentata, 2022. "The epidemiology of multimorbidity in France: Variations by gender, age and socioeconomic factors, and implications for surveillance and prevention," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 17(4), pages 1-21, April.
    8. Amin, Vikesh & Fletcher, Jason M & Lu, Qiongshi & Song, Jie, 2023. "Re-examining the relationship between education and adult mental health in the UK: A research note," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    9. Stephanie von Hinke, 2022. "Education, Dietary Intakes and Exercise," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 84(1), pages 214-240, February.
    10. Janke, Katharina & Johnston, David W. & Propper, Carol & Shields, Michael A., 2020. "The causal effect of education on chronic health conditions in the UK," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    11. Woong Lee & Ran Im, 2023. "An Empirical Assessment of the Interactionist Model: The Relationship Between Household Income and Depression Among Retirees in Korea," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 18(2), pages 729-751, April.
    12. Schmitz, Hendrik & Tawiah, Beatrice Baaba, 2023. "Life-cycle health effects of compulsory schooling," Ruhr Economic Papers 1006, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    13. Fletcher, Jason & Topping, Michael & Zheng, Fengyi & Lu, Qiongshi, 2021. "The effects of education on cognition in older age: Evidence from genotyped Siblings," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 280(C).
    14. Janke, Katharina & Johnston, David W. & Propper, Carol & Shields, Michael A., 2018. "The Causal Effect of Education on Chronic Health Conditions," IZA Discussion Papers 11353, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    15. Matthew J Tudball & Rachael A Hughes & Kate Tilling & Jack Bowden & Qingyuan Zhao, 2023. "Sample-constrained partial identification with application to selection bias," Biometrika, Biometrika Trust, vol. 110(2), pages 485-498.
    16. Kaestner, Robert & Schiman, Cuiping & Ward, Jason, 2020. "Education and health over the life cycle," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    17. Silvia H. Barcellos & Leandro Carvalho & Patrick Turley, 2021. "The Effect of Education on the Relationship between Genetics, Early-Life Disadvantages, and Later-Life SES," NBER Working Papers 28750, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    18. Adriana Lleras‐Muney, 2022. "Education and income gradients in longevity: The role of policy," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 55(1), pages 5-37, February.
    19. Powdthavee, Nattavudh, 2021. "Education and pro-environmental attitudes and behaviours: A nonparametric regression discontinuity analysis of a major schooling reform in England and Wales," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 181(C).
    20. Powdthavee, Nattavudh, 2020. "The Causal Effect of Education on Climate Literacy and Pro-Environmental Behaviours: Evidence from a Nationwide Natural Experiment," IZA Discussion Papers 13210, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    21. Jiang, Wei & Lu, Yi & Xie, Huihua, 2020. "Education and mental health: Evidence and mechanisms," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 180(C), pages 407-437.
    22. Avendano, Mauricio & de Coulon, Augustin & Nafilyan, Vahé, 2020. "Does longer compulsory schooling affect mental health? Evidence from a British reform," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 183(C).

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