The Impact of Social Activities on Cognitive Ageing: Evidence From Eleven European Countries

Loretti Dobrescu and Dimitris Christelis

No 201207, Working Papers from ARC Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research (CEPAR), Australian School of Business, University of New South Wales

Abstract: Using micro data from eleven European countries, we investigate the impact of being socially active on cognition in older age. Cognitive abilities are measured through scores on numeracy, fluency and recall tests. We address the endogeneity of social activities through panel data and instrumental variable methods. We find that social activities have an important positive effect on cognition, with the results varying by gender. Fluency is positively affected only in females, while numeracy only in males. Finally, recall is affected in both sexes. We also show that social activities, through their effect on cognition, influence positively households’ economic welfare.

Keywords: Cognition; Ageing; Social Activities; SHARE; Panel Data (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C23 I10 J14 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 43 pages
Date: 2012-10
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-age and nep-eur
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Working Paper: The Impact of Social Activities on Cognitive Ageing: Evidence from Eleven European Countries (2012)
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