Ninth ATHEA Conference

Abstract 

This study investigates the relationship between digital inclusion and cognitive functioning in later life, with a focus on gender differences and heterogeneities between urban and non-urban areas. As digital technologies increasingly shape access to information, services, and social participation, understanding their role in maintaining cognitive health is particularly relevant in the context of population aging, rising dementia-related costs, and persistent gender and spatial inequalities. 

Using balanced panel data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), waves 5, 6, 8, and 9 (2013–2022), we analyze individuals who participated in all four waves and exclude respondents with cognitive impairment at baseline. The final analytical sample comprises 15,506 individuals from 13 European countries, yielding 62,024 observations. Episodic memory, our dependent variable, is measured by the cognitive ability to recall as many words as possible out of 10 words read aloud. It is a key cognitive domain and an early marker of cognitive decline, making it particularly relevant for studying preventive factors in aging populations. Conversely, we treat internet use as a proxy for digital inclusion, which serves as our primary independent variable of interest. 

We estimate two-way fixed-effects models that account for unobserved time-invariant individual heterogeneity and common time trends. To assess heterogeneous associations, we include interaction terms between gender and internet use and further stratify the analysis by level of urbanization. 

Our results indicate that internet use is associated with higher episodic memory performance for both men and women, consistent with previous evidence on the cognitive benefits of digital engagement. Once common time trends are accounted for, gender differences in this association are not statistically significant, although estimated effect sizes tend to be larger for men. However, substantial heterogeneity emerges across urbanization levels. The association between internet use and episodic memory is particularly pronounced in urban areas, and significant gender disparities persist within urban populations, especially between urban men and urban women. The literature suggests that urban regions often benefit from faster and more widespread internet access, making digital inclusion especially important due to the higher risks of loneliness and reduced social connectedness in these areas, particularly for urban men.  

By documenting heterogeneous cognitive returns to digital inclusion across gender and place, this study contributes to the health economics literature on aging, technology use, and health inequalities. From a policy perspective, the findings suggest that digital inclusion strategies may yield both efficiency and equity gains when they are better targeted to specific population groups and spatial contexts, thereby supporting healthy aging and potentially reducing future health and long-term care burdens. 

Abstract

Maintaining good cognitive functioning is essential for living an independent life. Yet individuals around retirement age display substantial variation in cognitive trajectories, with the underlying mechanisms remaining insufficiently understood. In light of these heterogeneities, several studies have investigated the effect of retirement on cognitive functioning, often showing inconsistent results. At the same time, related work has emphasized the roles of gender and employment trajectories in shaping cognitive resilience in older age. Bringing together these two strands of literature and acknowledging the role of gender-specific life courses in shaping both later-life cognitive functioning and the character of retirement, this paper aims to estimate how gendered employment histories, capturing work intensity and occupational complexity, condition the causal effect of retirement on cognitive functioning.

The study draws on data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) on Europeans aged 50-70, using episodic memory and verbal fluency as outcome variables. In a two-step design, I first derive gender-specific employment-history clusters via sequence analysis using retrospective data on work intensity (full-time or part-time) and work complexity (higher or lower skill level). Second, I estimate causal effects using an instrumental-variable approach, exploiting discontinuity in retirement probabilities at the statutory retirement age.

Estimated retirement effects on episodic memory are highly heterogeneous across pre-retirement employment trajectories and gender. Among men, retirement is associated with significant memory declines in clusters characterized by sustained employment in lower-complexity jobs, whereas those with predominantly higher complexity employment exhibit no significant effects. Among women, retirement is linked to modest improvements only in the full-time, higher complexity cluster, whereas longer retirement duration is associated with gradual memory decline across all clusters.

These preliminary findings suggest that average retirement effects may mask substantial heterogeneity tied to gendered work histories. This should be considered when designing retirement policies, acknowledging gender- and employment history-specific contexts and their cognitive implications.