Cognition and Economic Outcomes in the Health and Retirement Survey

John J. McArdle, James P. Smith, Robert Willis

NBER Working Paper No. 15266
Issued in August 2009
NBER Program(s):Program on the Economics of Aging

Dimensions of cognitive skills are potentially important but often neglected determinants of the central economic outcomes that shape overall well-being over the life course. There exists enormous variation among households in their rates of wealth accumulation, their holdings of financial assets, and the relative risk in their chosen asset portfolios that have proven difficult to explain by conventional demographic factors, the amount of bequests they receive or anticipating giving, and the level of economic resources of the household. These may be cognitively demanding decisions at any age but especially so at older ages. This research examines the association of cognitive skills with wealth, wealth growth, and wealth composition for people in their pre and post-retirement years.

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Document Object Identifier (DOI): 10.3386/w15266

Published: Cognition and Economic Outcomes in the Health and Retirement Survey, John J. McArdle, James P. Smith, Robert Willis. in Explorations in the Economics of Aging, Wise. 2011

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