The Return to Education in Terms of Wealth and Health

CEGE - Discussion Papers, No. 293

35 Pages Posted: 4 Nov 2016

See all articles by Holger Strulik

Holger Strulik

University of Göttingen - School of Law, Economics, Social Sciences

Date Written: October 2016

Abstract

This study presents a new view on the association between education and longevity. In contrast to the earlier literature, which focused on inefficient health behavior of the less educated, we investigate the extent to which the education gradient can be explained by fully rational and efficient behavior of all social strata. Specifically, we consider a life-cycle model in which the loss of body functionality, which eventually leads to death, can be accelerated by unhealthy behavior and delayed through health expenditure. Individuals are heterogeneous with respect to their return to education. The proposed theory rationalizes why individuals equipped with a higher return to education chose more education as well as a healthier lifestyle. When calibrated for the average male US citizen, the model motivates about 50% percent of the observable education gradient by idiosyncratic returns to education, with causality running from education to longevity. The theory also explains why compulsory schooling has comparatively small effects on longevity and why the gradient gets larger over time through improvements in medical technology.

Keywords: Health Inequality, Schooling, Aging, Longevity, Health Expenditure, Unhealthy Behavior, Smoking, Value of Life

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JEL Classification: D91, I10, I20, J24

Suggested Citation

Strulik, Holger, The Return to Education in Terms of Wealth and Health (October 2016). CEGE - Discussion Papers, No. 293, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2864333 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2864333

Holger Strulik (Contact Author)

University of Göttingen - School of Law, Economics, Social Sciences ( email )

Germany

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