Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/232801 
Year of Publication: 
2021
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 14049
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
Cognitive skills are important determinants of employment and productivity in older adults. Although cognitive decline is often linked to changes in mental health, the causal nature of the association between mental illness and cognitive performance is not established. In this paper, we analyse the effect of depressive symptoms on cognitive function. Based on longitudinal data for older adults of working age, we use an instrumental variable approach to show that worsening depressive symptoms lead to a decline in cognitive skills. The economic consequences of impaired cognition caused by depressive symptoms may be a large component of mental illness's social costs.
Subjects: 
cognitive skills
mental health
longitudinal data
JEL: 
J24
I10
Document Type: 
Working Paper

Files in This Item:
File
Size
398.73 kB





Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.