nep-age New Economics Papers
on Economics of Ageing
Issue of 2023‒03‒13
eleven papers chosen by
Claudia Villosio
LABORatorio R. Revelli

  1. The unintended effect of Medicaid aging waivers on informal caregiving By Yinan Liu; Emma Zai
  2. Why life gets better after age 50, for some: mental well-being and the social norm of work By Coen van de Kraats; Titus Galama; Maarten Lindeboom
  3. Evaluating the relationship between income, survival and loss of autonomy among older Canadians By Marie Connolly; Akakpo Domefa-Konou; Marie-Louise Leroux
  4. Population ageing and the public finance burden of dementia: A simulation analysis By María Noel Pi Alperin; Magali Perquin; Gastón A. Giordana
  5. Do Pension Benefits Accelerate Cognitive Decline? Evidence from Rural China By Plamen Nikolov; Md Shahadath Hossain
  6. Happier Elderly Residents The positive impact of physical activity on objective and subjective health condition of elderly people in nursing homes. Evidence from a multi-site randomized controlled trial By Claudia Senik; Guglielmo Zappalà; Carine Milcent; Chloé Gerves-Pinquié; Patricia Dargent-Molina
  7. The role of labor market inequalities in explaining the gender gap in depression risk among older US adults By Maria Gueltzow; Maarten J. Bijlsma; Frank J. van Lenthe; Mikko Myrskylä
  8. Cognitive Misperception and Chronic Disease Awareness: Evidence from Blood Biomarker Data By Lin, Zhuoer; Fu, Mingqi; Chen, Xi
  9. Migrating to a new country in late life: A review of the literature on international retirement migration By Savas, Esma Betul; Spaan, Juul; Henkens, Kène; Kalmijn, Matthijs; van Dalen, Hendrik Peter
  10. Chile: Selected Issues By International Monetary Fund
  11. The Canadian Neutral Rate of Interest through the Lens of an Overlapping-Generations Model By Martin Kuncl; Dmitry Matveev

  1. By: Yinan Liu; Emma Zai (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany)
    Abstract: Medicaid aging waivers incentivize older adults who need long-term care to stay at home rather than move into a nursing facility. However, this policy may inadvertently shift care burdens onto informal caregivers. Using data on state-level waiver expenditure from 1998 to 2014 linked with the restricted access Health and Retirement Study (HRS), this paper investigates whether program funding is associated with the probability that an HRS respondent provides informal care to her older parents. Changes to state-level policy funding produce a quasi-experiment, which allows us to use two-way fixed effects models to estimate a causal relationship between the program and informal caregiving. The findings show that a 10 percent increase in aging waiver expenditure increases the overall likelihood that an adult child becomes an informal caregiver to her parents by 0.1 percentage points (0.3 percent). The overall estimate is composed of differential effects on different types of care. The results show that the Medicaid aging waiver funding is positively associated with the likelihood of being an errands caregiver and a non-intensive caregiver who spends fewer hours providing care, but unrelated to the likelihood of providing personal care and intensive care. The findings are mainly driven by the mechanism that aging-at-home is more attractive supported by the aging waivers.
    JEL: J1 Z0
    Date: 2023
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dem:wpaper:wp-2023-006&r=age
  2. By: Coen van de Kraats (Erasmus University Rotterdam); Titus Galama (University of Southern California); Maarten Lindeboom (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and Monash University)
    Abstract: We provide evidence that the social norm (expectation) of work has a detrimental causal effect on the mental well-being of individuals not able to abide by it. Using SHARE data on men aged 50+ from 10 European countries, we identify the social norm of work effect in a difference-in-differences model that compares mental well-being scores of unemployed/disabled individuals (the treatment group) with those of employed/retired individuals (the control group) at varying levels of the fraction of retirees of comparable age. The initial mental well-being gap at age 50 is large, with unemployed/disabled men experiencing substantially lower levels of mental well-being, comparable to, e.g., the detriment of being widowed. Beyond age 50, the mental well-being of unemployed and disabled men improves as peers of comparable age retire, and full convergence occurs generally at an age that is slightly above the normal retirement age, when everyone has retired.
    Keywords: mental well-being, social norm of work, retirement institutions
    JEL: I10 I31 J60 D63
    Date: 2023–02
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mhe:chemon:2023-03&r=age
  3. By: Marie Connolly; Akakpo Domefa-Konou; Marie-Louise Leroux
    Abstract: Evaluating the relationship between health at old age and income is crucial for the design of equitable public policies targeted toward the elderly. Using 2016 Canadian survey data on adults aged between 50 and 70, we estimate the relationships between individual income, longevity and dependency at the old age. We use both subjective and objective measures of the probability to survive to age 85, of the probability to have activities of daily living (ADL) limitations, and of the probability of entering a nursing home. We find that income and the (objective and subjective) probability to live to age 85 and over are positively related while income and the (objective and subjective) probability to suffer from ADL limitations are negatively related. We also find that while the objective probability to enter a nursing home is negatively correlated with income, the subjective probability is positively correlated with income. Most of our results are driven by individuals in the highest tercile of the income distribution. Our results are robust to different sensitivity checks. L'évaluation de la relation entre la santé des personnes âgées et le revenu est cruciale pour la conception de politiques publiques équitables ciblées sur les personnes âgées. En utilisant les données d'une enquête canadienne de 2016 sur les adultes âgés de 50 à 70 ans, nous estimons les relations entre le revenu individuel, la longévité et la dépendance des personnes âgées. Nous utilisons des mesures subjectives et objectives de la probabilité de survivre jusqu'à 85 ans, de la probabilité d'avoir des limitations des activités de la vie quotidienne (AVQ) et de la probabilité d'entrer dans une maison de retraite. Nous constatons que le revenu et la probabilité (objective et subjective) de vivre jusqu'à 85 ans et plus sont positivement liés, tandis que le revenu et la probabilité (objective et subjective) de souffrir de limitations des activités de la vie quotidienne sont négativement liés. Nous constatons également que si la probabilité objective d'entrer dans une maison de retraite est négativement corrélée au revenu, la probabilité subjective est positivement corrélée au revenu. La plupart de nos résultats concernent les individus situés dans le tercile supérieur de la distribution des revenus. Nos résultats sont robustes à différents contrôles de sensibilité.
    Keywords: Long term care, Survival probability, Probability to become dependent, Nursing home, Income, Soins de longue durée, Probabilité de survie, Probabilité de devenir dépendant, Maison de retraite, Revenu
    JEL: C36 I10 I14 I18 J14
    Date: 2023–02–09
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cir:cirwor:2023s-04&r=age
  4. By: María Noel Pi Alperin; Magali Perquin; Gastón A. Giordana
    Abstract: This paper uses long-term population projections to study the evolution of dementia in Luxembourg through 2070, as well as its impact on public expenditure through healthcare and long-term care. We extend the Giordana and Pi Alperin (2022) model by adding an algorithm to identify individuals suffering from dementia. This allows us to simulate dementia prevalence among individuals aged 50 and more in several scenarios incorporating alternative hypotheses about risk factors, new treatments and comorbidities (including long-run effects of COVID-19). Public health policies reducing stroke and hypertension risk could lower dementia prevalence by 17% and public expenditure on healthcare for dementia patients by a similar amount. A new treatment extending the mild dementia phase could nearly double prevalence and possibly triple the associated healthcare costs. Finally, past exposure to COVID-19 could raise prevalence by 12% to 24% in the medium term and public expenditure on dementia healthcare by 6% to 12%. Public expenditure on long-term care for dementia patients would increase even more, generally doubling by 2070.
    Keywords: Dementia, Dynamic micro-simulation, Healthcare, Health-related public expenditure, Long-term care, Luxembourg, SHARE
    JEL: D3 H30 I10 I12 I13 I18
    Date: 2023–01
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bcl:bclwop:bclwp170&r=age
  5. By: Plamen Nikolov (State University of New York); Md Shahadath Hossain (State University of New York at Binghamton)
    Abstract: Economists have mainly focused on human capital accumulation, rather than on the causes and consequences of human capital depreciation in late adulthood. To investigate how human capital depreciates over the life cycle, we examine how a newly introduced pension program, the National Rural Pension Scheme, affects cognitive performance in rural China. We find significant adverse effects of access to pension benefits on cognitive functioning among the elderly. We detect the most substantial impact of the program on delayed recall, a cognition measure linked to the onset of dementia. In terms of mechanisms, we find that cognitive deterioration in late adulthood is mediated by a substantial reduction in social engagement, volunteering, and activities fostering mental acuity.
    Keywords: life cycle, human capital, cognitive functioning, cognition, middle-income countries, LMICs, developing countries
    JEL: J24 H55 O15
    Date: 2023–02
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hka:wpaper:2023-008&r=age
  6. By: Claudia Senik (PSE - Paris School of Economics - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris sciences et lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, PJSE - Paris Jourdan Sciences Economiques - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris sciences et lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, SU - Sorbonne Université); Guglielmo Zappalà (PSE - Paris School of Economics - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris sciences et lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement); Carine Milcent (PSE - Paris School of Economics - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris sciences et lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, PJSE - Paris Jourdan Sciences Economiques - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris sciences et lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement); Chloé Gerves-Pinquié (IRSRPL - Institut Recherche en Santé Respiratoire des Pays de la Loire); Patricia Dargent-Molina (INSERM - Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale)
    Abstract: Happier Elderly Residents The positive impact of physical activity on objective and subjective health condition of elderly people in nursing homes. Evidence from a multi-site randomized controlled trial. We explore the effects of adapted physical exercise programs in nursing homes, in which some residents suffer from dementia and/or physical limitations and other do not. We use data from 452 participants followed over 12 months in 32 retirement homes in four European countries. Using a difference-in-difference with individual random effects model, we show that the program has exerted a significant impact on the number of falls and the self-declared health and health-related quality of life of residents (EQ-5D). The wide scope of this study, in terms of sites, countries, and measured outcomes, brings generality to previously existing evidence. A simple computation, in the case of France, suggests that such programs are highly cost-efficient.
    Keywords: Physical activity, Retirement homes, Impact study, Falls, Subjective health
    Date: 2021–04
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:psewpa:halshs-03966677&r=age
  7. By: Maria Gueltzow (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany); Maarten J. Bijlsma (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany); Frank J. van Lenthe; Mikko Myrskylä (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany)
    Abstract: Background: We aim to investigate to what extent gender inequality at the labor market explains higher depression risk for older US women compared to men. Methods: We analyze data from 35, 699 US adults aged 50-80 years that participated in the Health and Retirement Study. We calculate the gender gap as the difference in the prevalence of elevated depressive symptoms (>= 3, 8-item Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale) between women and men. We employ a dynamic causal decomposition and simulate the life course of a synthetic cohort from ages 50-80 with the longitudinal g-formula. We introduce four nested interventions by assigning women the same probabilities of A) being in an employment category, B) occupation class, C) current income, and D) prior income group as men, conditional on women’s health and family status until age 70. Findings: The gender gap in depression risk is 2.9%-points at ages 50-51 which increases to 7.6%-points at ages 70-71. Intervention A decreases the gender gap over ages 50-71 by 1.2%-points (95%CI for change: -2.81 to 0.4), intervention D by 1.64%-points (95%CI for change: -3.28 to -0.15) or 32% (95%CI: 1.39 to 62.83), and the effects of interventions B and C are in between those of A and D. The impact is particularly large for Hispanics and low educated groups. Interpretation: Gender inequalities at the labor market substantially explain the gender gap in depression risk in older US adults. Reducing these inequalities has the potential to narrow the gender gap in depression.
    Keywords: USA, gender, inequality, labor market, mental health
    JEL: J1 Z0
    Date: 2023
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dem:wpaper:wp-2023-003&r=age
  8. By: Lin, Zhuoer (Yale University); Fu, Mingqi (Wuhan University); Chen, Xi (Yale University)
    Abstract: Cognitive misperception contributed to poor decision-making; yet their impact on health-related decisions is less known. We examined how self-perceived memory was associated with chronic disease awareness among older Chinese adults. Data were obtained from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study. Nationally representative blood biomarkers identify participants' dyslipidemia and diabetes status. Among participants with biomarker identified dyslipidemia or diabetes, disease awareness was defined as self-reported diagnosis of the conditions. The proportions of disease awareness were lower for individuals with better self-perceived memory and those with more impaired cognitive ability, showing opposite patterns. Controlling for cognitive ability and covariates, self-perceived memory was negatively associated with the dyslipidemia and diabetes awareness. In particular, older adults with the highest level of self-perceived memory had significantly lower disease awareness as compared to those with the lowest level of self-perceived memory. Our findings were robust to alternative cognitive measures and were stronger for less educated rural residents or those living without children. Cognitive misperception poses great challenges to chronic disease management. Targeted interventions and supports are needed, particularly for the disadvantaged.
    Keywords: cognitive impairment, self-perceived memory, chronic disease awareness, dyslipidemia, diabetes
    JEL: I12 J14 D91 I18
    Date: 2023–02
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp15934&r=age
  9. By: Savas, Esma Betul; Spaan, Juul; Henkens, Kène; Kalmijn, Matthijs; van Dalen, Hendrik Peter (Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management)
    Date: 2023
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tiu:tiutis:5d958f16-41db-4f8f-b0c3-d292e50a413b&r=age
  10. By: International Monetary Fund
    Abstract: Selected Issues
    Keywords: staff team of the International Monetary Fund; revenue scenario; green tax; abnormal returns; withdrawal request; capital market depth; AFP investment portfolio; climate strategy; NDC goal; IMF staff calculation; Pension spending; Climate policy; Carbon tax; Greenhouse gas emissions; Global; Caribbean; Western Hemisphere
    Date: 2023–01–20
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imf:imfscr:2023/037&r=age
  11. By: Martin Kuncl; Dmitry Matveev
    Abstract: The neutral rate of interest is an important concept and communication tool for central banks. We develop a small open economy model with overlapping generations to study the determinants of the neutral real rate of interest in a small open economy. The model captures domestic factors such as population aging, declining productivity, rising government debt and inequality. Foreign factors are captured by changes in the global neutral real rate. We use the model to evaluate secular dynamics of the neutral rate in Canada from 1980 to 2018. We find that changes in both foreign and domestic factors resulted in a protracted decline in the neutral rate.
    Keywords: Economic models; Interest rates; Monetary policy
    JEL: E21 E22 E43 E50 E52 E58 F41
    Date: 2023–02
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bca:bocadp:23-5&r=age

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