Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-r5fsc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-20T07:37:30.507Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Occupation, retirement and cognitive functioning

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 May 2016

SHINYA KAJITANI ,
KEI SAKATA  and
COLIN MCKENZIE
SHINYA KAJITANI
Affiliation:
Faculty of Economics, Meisei University, Tokyo, Japan.
KEI SAKATA
Affiliation:
Faculty of Economics, Ritsumeikan University, Shiga, Japan.
COLIN MCKENZIE*
Affiliation:
Faculty of Economics, Keio University, Tokyo, Japan.
*
Address for correspondence: Colin McKenzie, Faculty of Economics, Keio University, 2-15-45 Mita, Tokyo 108-8345, Japan E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to examine the causal impact of the duration of retirement on the cognitive functioning of male elderly workers in Japan using data from the National Survey of Japanese Elderly. We explore how the complexity of a worker's longest served job affects cognitive functioning after retirement. In particular, we investigate eight dimensions of the longest served job using information listed in the United States Dictionary of Occupational Titles, namely physical demands, mathematical development, reasoning development, language development, the job's relationship to data, the job's relationship to people, the job's relationship to things and the specific vocational preparation required. Our estimator takes account of the potential endogeneity of the duration of retirement and the left-censoring of the duration of retirement. Our empirical evidence suggests that the duration of retirement has a negative and significant impact on cognitive functioning. Moreover, among the eight dimensions of job characteristics, high complexity in the job's relation to data is found to be an important job characteristic in delaying the deterioration of cognitive functioning after retirement.

Keywords

cognitive functioningendogeneityretirementtwo-stage estimation
Type
Articles
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 37 , Issue 8 , September 2017 , pp. 1568 - 1596
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adam, S., Bay, C., Bonsang, E., Germain, S. and Perelman, S. 2006. Occupational activities and cognitive reserve: a frontier approach applied to the Survey on Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). CREPP Working Paper 2006/05, Centre de Recherche en Economie Publique et de la Population, Liege, Belgium.Google Scholar
Andel, R., Crowe, M., Pedersen, N. L., Mortimer, J., Crimmins, E., Johansson, B. and Gatz, M. 2005. Complexity of work and risk of Alzheimer's Disease: a population-based study of Swedish twins. Journals of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 60B, 5, 251–8.Google Scholar
Andel, R., Kåreholt, I., Parker, M. G., Thorslund, M. and Gatz, M. 2007. Complexity of primary lifetime occupation and cognition in advanced old age. Journal of Aging and Health, 19, 3, 397–415.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bonsang, E., Adam, S. and Perelman, S. 2012. Does retirement affect cognitive functioning? Journal of Health Economics, 31, 3, 490–501.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bosma, H., Van Boxtel, M. P. J., Ponds, R. W. H., Houx, P. J., Burdorf, A. and Jolles, J. 2003. Mental work demands protect against cognitive impairment: MAAS Prospective Cohort Study. Experimental Aging Research, 29, 1, 33–45.Google Scholar
Coe, N. B., von Gaudecker, H. M., Lindeboom, M. and Maurer, J. 2012. The effect of retirement on cognitive functioning. Health Economics, 21, 8, 913–27.Google Scholar
Coe, N. B. and Zamarro, G. 2011. Retirement effects on health in Europe. Journal of Health Economics, 30, 1, 77–86.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Evans, D. A., Beckett, L. A., Albert, M. S., Hebert, L. E., Scherr, P. A., Funkenstein, H. H. and Taylor, J. O. 1993. Level of education and change in cognitive function in a community population of older persons. Annals of Epidemiology, 3, 1, 71–7.Google Scholar
Finkel, D., Adel, R., Gatz, M. and Pedersen, N. L. 2009. The role of occupational complexity in trajectories of cognitive aging before and after retirement. Psychology and Aging, 24, 3, 563–73.Google Scholar
Fisher, G. G., Stachowski, A., Infurna, F. J., Faul, J. D., Grosch, J. and Tetrick, L. E. 2014. Mental work demands, retirement, and longitudinal trajectories of cognitive functioning. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 19, 2, 231–42.Google Scholar
Fletcher, J. M., Sindelar, J. L. and Yamaguchi, S. 2011. Cumulative effects of job characteristics on health. Health Economics, 20, 5, 553–70.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Folstein, M. F., Folstein, S. E. and McHugh, P. R. 1975. ‘Mini-mental State’: a practical method for grading the cognitive state of patients for the clinician. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 12, 3, 189–98.Google Scholar
Gow, A. J., Avlund, K. and Mortensen, E. L. 2014. Occupational characteristics and cognitive aging in the Glostrup 1914 Cohort. Journals of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 69B, 2, 228–36.Google Scholar
Greene, W. H. 2008. Econometric Analysis. Sixth edition, , Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.Google Scholar
Grossman, M. 1972. On the concept of health capital and the demand for health. Journal of Political Economy, 80, 2, 223–55.Google Scholar
Hashimoto, H. 2013. Health consequences of transitioning to retirement and social participation: results based on JSTAR panel data. RIETI Discussion Paper Series 13-E-078, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry, Tokyo.Google Scholar
Japan Institute for Labour 1997. Shokugyo Hando Bukku [Occupation Handbook for Youth]. Japan Institute for Labour, Tokyo.Google Scholar
Kajitani, S. 2011. Working in old age and health outcomes in Japan. Japan and the World Economy, 23, 3, 153–62.Google Scholar
Kan, M. 2009. Economic analysis of disparities in health among Japanese elderly. Japanese Journal of Health Economics and Policy, 20, 2, 85–108. (in Japanese)Google Scholar
Le Carret, N., Lafont, S., Mayo, W. and Fabrigoule, C. 2003. The effect of education on cognitive performances and its implication for the constitution of the cognitive reserve. Developmental Neuropsychology, 23, 3, 317–37.Google Scholar
Marquie, J. C., Duarte, L. R., Bessieres, P., Dalm, C., Gentil, C. and Ruidavets, J. B. 2010. Higher mental stimulation at work is associated with improved cognitive functioning in both young and older workers. Ergonomics, 53, 11, 1287–301.Google Scholar
Mazzonna, F. and Peracchi, F. 2012. Ageing, cognitive abilities and retirement. European Economic Review, 56, 4, 691–710.Google Scholar
Oshio, T., Oishi, A. S. and Shimizutani, S. 2011. Social security reforms and labor force participation of the elderly in Japan. Japanese Economic Review, 62, 2, 248–71.Google Scholar
Potter, G. G., Plassman, B. L., Helms, M. J., Foster, S. M. and Edwards, N. W. 2006. Occupational characteristics and cognitive performance among elderly male twins. Neurology, 67, 8, 1377–82.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Potter, G. G., Helms, M. J. and Plassman, B. L. 2008. Association of job demands and intelligence with cognitive functioning measures among men in late life. Neurology, 70, 19, part 2, 1803–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roberts, G. and Binder, D. 2009. Analyses based on combining similar information from multiple surveys. Paper presented at the Survey Research Methods, Section of the Joint Statistical Meetings, Washington DC. Available online at http://www.amstat.org/sections/srms/Proceedings/y2009/Files/303934.pdf [Accessed 27 January 2013].Google Scholar
Rohwedder, S. and Willis, R. J. 2010. Mental retirement. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 24, 1, 119–38.Google Scholar
Schooler, C., Mulatu, M. S. and Oates, G. 1999. The continuing effects of substantively complex work on the intellectual functioning of older workers. Psychology and Aging, 14, 3, 483–506.Google Scholar
Smart, E. L., Gow, A. L. and Dreary, I. J. 2014. Occupational complexity and lifetime cognitive abilities. Neurology, 83, 24, 2285–91.Google Scholar
Stern, Y. 2002. What is cognitive reserve? Theory and research application of the reserve concept. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 8, 3, 448–60.Google Scholar
Stern, Y., Gurland, B., Tatemichi, T. K., Tang, M. X., Wilder, D. and Mayeux, R. 1994. Influence of education and occupation on the incidence of Alzheimer's Disease. Journal of the American Medical Association, 271, 13, 1004–10.Google Scholar
Teng, E. L., Hasegawa, K., Homma, A., Imai, Y., Larson, E., Graves, E., Sugimoto, K., Yamaguchi, T., Sasaki, T., Chiu, D. and White, L. R. 1994. The Cognitive Abilities Screening Instrument (CASI): a practical test for cross-cultural epidemiological studies of dementia. International Psychogeriatrics, 6, 1, 45–58.Google Scholar
US Employment Service, Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration 1991. Dictionary of Occupational Titles. Revised fourth edition, The Administration, Washington DC.Google Scholar
Van der Elst, W., Van Boxtel, M. P. J. and Jolles, J. 2012. Occupational activity and cognitive aging: a case-control study based on the Maastricht Aging Study. Experimental Aging Research, 38, 3, 315–29.Google Scholar