Work

Higher Education and Health Investments: Does More Schooling Affect Preventive Health Care Use?

Year: 2009

Type: article

Abstract: While it is well-known that individuals with higher levels of education consume more preventive medical care, there are several potential explanations for this stylized fact. These explanations include causal and non-causal mechanisms, and distinguishing among explanations is relevant for accessing the importance of educational spillovers on lifetime health outcomes as well as uncovering the determinants of preventive care. In this paper, we use regression analysis, sibling fixed effects, and matching estimators to examine the impact of education on preventive care. In particular, we use a cohort of 10,000 Wisconsin high school graduates that has been followed for nearly 50 years and find evidence that attending college is associated with an increase in the likelihood of using several types of preventive care by approximately five to fifteen percent for college attendees in the early 1960s. We also find that greater education may influence preventive care partly through occupational channels and access to care. These findings suggest that increases in education have the potential to spillover on long-term health choices.

Source: Journal of Human Capital

DOI: 10.1086/645090

Authors: Jason M. Fletcher, David E. Frisvold

Institutions: Yale University, Emory University

Language: English

Topic: Healthcare Policy and Management

Subfield: Economics and Econometrics

Field: Economics, Econometrics and Finance

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Good health and well-being, Quality education

Open Access status: green

Funders: National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Aging