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The Effect of Spousal Loss on the Cognitive Ability of the Elder

  • Hwanoong Lee ORCID logo und Changsu Ko EMAIL logo
Veröffentlicht/Copyright: 15. Juni 2022
The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy
Aus der Zeitschrift The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy Band 22 Heft 3

Abstract

Given that economic growth is associated with increased life expectancy, declines in cognitive ability among the elder is a critical problem across the developed world. In this paper, we analyze the causal effect of the death of a spouse on the surviving spouse’s cognitive ability using the fixed effect model. The reliability of the estimates is enhanced by robustness checks, such as an event study model, to attend to potential threats to identification. Results show that, on average, spousal loss significantly reduces the cognitive functioning of the surviving spouse. We also study heterogeneity in the effect of spousal loss, finding that co-residing with children greatly mitigates the negative effect of bereavement.

Keywords: cognitive ability; dementia; bereavement; household composition; Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging (KLoSA)
JEL Classification: I12; J12; J1
Corresponding author: Changsu Ko, Korea Institute of Public Finance, 336, Sicheong-Daero, Sejong-si, Korea, E-mail:

A preliminary and modified version of a part of this paper is published in “Monthly Public Finance Forum,” (2020.11) which is an internal publication of Korea Institute of Public Finance. This paper does not present the views of Korea Institute of Public Finance. The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and publication of this article. The authors declare no conflicts of interests exist. We thank the Editor and the referee for their insightful comments. We are also grateful to the participants of internal seminars of Korea Institute of Public Finance for their useful comments.

Appendix
Figure A1: Dynamics of co-residing with children by groups. This figure shows the dynamics of co-residency separately by three groups. The three groups are defined based on coresidency in 2006 and the definition of each group is the following: those not living within a proximity of 30 minutes of a child (Group 1), living within a proximity of 30 minutes of a child (Group 2), and co-residing with a child (Group 3).
Figure A1:

Dynamics of co-residing with children by groups.

This figure shows the dynamics of co-residency separately by three groups. The three groups are defined based on coresidency in 2006 and the definition of each group is the following: those not living within a proximity of 30 minutes of a child (Group 1), living within a proximity of 30 minutes of a child (Group 2), and co-residing with a child (Group 3).

Figure A1: (continued)
Figure A1:

(continued)

Table A1:

Summary statistics of pre-determined variables (2006) by groups (age 60>).

K-MMSE Age Relative poverty Highest level of ADL index IADL index
score status educational score score
attainment
Group 1
Mean 27.47 67.18 0.65 1.87 0.02 0.19
SD 1.91 5.42 0.48 1.05 0.23 0.73
Min 24.00 60.00 0.00 1.00 0.00 0.00
Max 30.00 88.00 1.00 4.00 4.00 7.00
Group 2
Mean 27.27 67.13 0.64 1.94 0.03 0.21
SD 1.93 4.96 0.48 1.07 0.32 0.68
Min 24.00 60.00 0.00 1.00 0.00 0.00
Max 30.00 82.00 1.00 4.00 5.00 6.00
Group 3
Mean 27.48 65.90 0.48 1.94 0.04 0.32
SD 1.96 4.99 0.50 1.03 0.41 1.09
Min 24.00 60.00 0.00 1.00 0.00 0.00
Max 30.00 86.00 1.00 4.00 7.00 10.00
Overall
Mean 27.43 66.71 0.59 1.91 0.03 0.24
SD 1.93 5.19 0.49 1.05 0.33 0.87
Min 24.00 60.00 0.00 1.00 0.00 0.00
Max 30.00 88.00 1.00 4.00 7.00 10.00

  1. This table includes reports the same information included in Table 11 but uses the sample of adults older than 60 years of age. Group 1 consists of adults not living in close proximity to their children (within 30 min), Group 2 consists of adults living in close proximity to their children (within 30 min), and Group 3 consists of adults living in the same household with their children. Relative poverty status is a dummy variable indicating whether the adults’ household income is less than 50% of the median household income in the population. Educational Attainment is a categorical variable of the level of completed level of education. The variable for Highest Level of Education is coded to take on values from 1 to 4, referring to each of the following educational categories: elementary school, middle school, high school, and Bachelor’s Degree or Higher. SD is the abbreviation of standard deviation.

Table A2:

Robustness check for sample selection criteria.

Number of observed (t ≥ 4) Balanced panel (t = 6) All
(1) (2) (3)
Spousal loss −0.480*** (0.171) −0.368** (0.182) −0.476*** (0.170)
n (Obs.) 26,794 22,349 27,045
n (PID) 4673 3725 4775

  1. Table reports coefficients for our sample selection criteria. Column (1) is the same as Column (2) of Table 3. Columns (2) and (3) are use the empirical equation in Column (1) but analyze a different sample. Column (2) is estimated using the balanced panel, and Column (3) is estimated using all observations. Standard errors are clustered at the family unit and in parentheses. Statistical significance: ***1% **5% *10%.

Table A3:

Propensity score estimation of sample attrition.

Explanatory variables Results
Age 51–60 −0.201*** (0.071)
Age 61–70 −0.027 (0.083)
Age 71–80 0.484*** (0.105)
Age 81–90 1.164*** (0.275)
K-MMSE score −0.012 (0.015)
Female −0.114*** (0.043)
Highest level of educational attainment (ref = elementary school)
Middle school −0.092 (0.081)
High school 0.067 (0.072)
Bachelor’s degree or higher 0.026 (0.100)
ADL score −0.163 (0.130)
IADL score 0.076* (0.040)
Relative poverty 0.026 (0.058)
Co-residence with a child (Group 2) 0.026 (0.095)
Co-residence with a child (Group 3) 0.108 (0.068)
n (Obs.) 4515

  1. This table reports the coefficients from the probit regression analyzing attrition. Standard errors are clustered at the family unit and in parentheses. Statistical significance: ***1% **5% *10%.

Table A4:

The first stage result of the IV regression.

Explanatory variables (1) (2)
Co-residency with a child in 2006 0.416*** (0.067)
Number of children 0.144*** (0.046) 0.193*** (0.050)
Number of male children −0.027 (0.032) −0.012 (0.037)
Number of teenage children 0.084 (0.103) 0.204* (0.122)
Number of children in their 20s 0.022 (0.065) 0.014 (0.068)
Number of children in their 30s −0.001 (0.029) −0.008 (0.032)
Number of grandchildren −0.020 (0.020) −0.016 (0.021)
Number of married children −0.089* (0.053) −0.185*** (0.049)
Intercept 0.125 (0.084) 0.353*** (0.094)
F-statistic 36.19 16.06
n (Obs.) 245 245

  1. This table reports the coefficients for the first stage of the IV regression of Table 13. Column (1) reports findings using co-residency with a child in 2006 as an instrumental variable. Column (2) excludes co-residency with a child in 2006 as an instrumental variable. Standard errors are clustered at the family unit and in parentheses. Statistical significance: ***1% **5% *10%.

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Received: 2021-06-03
Accepted: 2022-05-24
Published Online: 2022-06-15

© 2022 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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  2. Research Articles
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  4. The Effects of School Start Time on Educational Outcomes: Evidence from the 9 O’clock Attendance Policy in South Korea
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  8. Letters
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https://doi.org/10.1515/bejeap-2021-0201
Schlagwörter für diesen Artikel
cognitive ability; dementia; bereavement; household composition; Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging (KLoSA)

Artikel in diesem Heft

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Research Articles
  3. Better School, Better Score? Evidence From a Chinese Earthquake-Stricken County
  4. The Effects of School Start Time on Educational Outcomes: Evidence from the 9 O’clock Attendance Policy in South Korea
  5. The Effect of Spousal Loss on the Cognitive Ability of the Elder
  6. High School Choices by Immigrant Students in Italy: Evidence from Administrative Data
  7. Permitting the Compensation of Birth Mothers for Adoption Expenses and its Impact on Adoptions
  8. Letters
  9. Social Efficiency of Market Entry Under Tax Policy
  10. Employment Protection, Workforce Mix and Firm Performance
  11. A Note on University Admission Tests: Simple Theory and Empirical Analysis
  12. Motivation in a Reciprocal Task: Interaction Effects of Task Meaning, Goal Salience, and Time Pressure
  13. Income Losses, Cash Transfers and Trust in Financial and Political Institutions: Survey Evidence from the Covid-19 Crisis
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