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Retirement and cognitive development: are the retired really inactive?

Author

Listed:
  • de Grip, A.

    (Research Centre for Educ and Labour Mark)

  • Dupuy, A.

    (Research Centre for Educ and Labour Mark)

  • Jolles, J.

    (Psychiatrie & Neuropsychologie)

  • van Boxtel, M.P.

    (Neuropsychology & Psychopharmacology)

Abstract

This paper uses longitudinal test data to analyze the relation between retirement and cognitive development. Controlling for individual fixed effects and lagged cognition, we find that retirees face greater declines in information processing speed than those who remain employed. However, remarkably, their cognitive flexibility declines less, an effect that appears to be persistent 6 years after retirement. Both effects of retirement on cognitive development are comparable to the effect of a five to six-year age difference. Controlling for changes in blood pressure, which are negatively related to cognitive flexibility, we still find lower declines in cognitive flexibility for retirees. Since the decline in information processing speed after retirement holds particularly for the low educated, activating these persons after retirement could lower the social costs of an aging society.
(This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)

Suggested Citation

  • de Grip, A. & Dupuy, A. & Jolles, J. & van Boxtel, M.P., 2012. "Retirement and cognitive development: are the retired really inactive?," Research Memorandum 009, Maastricht University, Maastricht Research School of Economics of Technology and Organization (METEOR).
    • Handle: RePEc:unm:umamet:2012009
    DOI: 10.26481/umamet.2012009
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    Cited by:

    1. Plamen Nikolov & Md Shahadath Hossain, 2020. "Do Pension Benefits Accelerate Cognitive Decline in Late Adulthood? Evidence from Rural China," Papers 2007.05884, arXiv.org, revised Dec 2022.
    2. Sahlgren, Gabriel H., 2012. "Work ‘til You Drop: Short- and Longer-Term Health Effects of Retirement in Europe," Working Paper Series 928, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J26 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Retirement; Retirement Policies

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