title: Schooling has smaller or insignificant effects on adult health in the US than suggested by cross-sectional associations: new estimates using relatively large samples of identical twins.
abstract: Numerous theoretical reasons have been posited about why more schooling might improve health. Adult health outcomes and behaviors generally are significantly associated with schooling. However, such associations do not necessarily imply that schooling has causal effects on health outcomes and behaviors. Causal estimates based on schooling variation from policies and from within-MZ (monozygotic) twins have reached mixed conclusions. This study contributed new estimates of cross-sectional associations and within-MZ causal effects using three relatively large US twins samples. The estimates suggested that schooling was significantly associated with numerous health outcomes and behaviors. However, with within-MZ twins control for unobserved factors, schooling was no longer associated with most indicators of better health (with the exception of self-reported health), while it continued to be associated with outcomes such as fertility and spousal schooling. Similar patterns were observed for spousal schooling.
authors.affiliation: Department of Economics, Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, Michigan, MI 48859, USA. Electronic address: amin1v@cmich.edu.
authors.forename: Vikesh
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Amin
authors.affiliation: Economics and Sociology, McNeil 160, 3718 Locust Walk, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6297, USA. Electronic address: jbehrman@econ.upenn.edu.
authors.forename: Jere R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Behrman
authors.affiliation: Demography, McNeil 272, 3718 Locust Walk, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6297, USA. Electronic address: hpkohler@pop.upenn.edu.
authors.forename: Hans-Peter
authors.initials: HP
authors.lastname: Kohler
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology; D015992:Body Mass Index; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004522:Educational Status; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006304:Health Status; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology; D064890:Social Determinants of Health; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D018454:Spouses / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014430:Twins, Monozygotic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: Causal effects; Health; Identical (monozygotic) twins estimators; Schooling
references.citation: Biodemography Soc Biol. 2011;57(1):88-141
references.pmid: 21845929
references.citation: Acta Genet Med Gemellol (Roma). 1990;39(1):35-70
references.pmid: 2392892
references.citation: Twin Res. 2002 Oct;5(5):493-6
references.pmid: 12537883
references.citation: Econ J (London). 2012 May 1;122(560):418-448
references.pmid: 22611283
references.citation: Demography. 2011 Nov;48(4):1347-75
references.pmid: 21842327
references.citation: J Health Econ. 2011 Mar;30(2):340-54
references.pmid: 21306780
references.citation: J Epidemiol Community Health. 2008 Jun;62(6):532-7
references.pmid: 18477752
references.citation: J Health Econ. 2007 Sep 1;26(5):877-95
references.pmid: 17275938
references.citation: Br Heart J. 1981 Jan;45(1):13-9
references.pmid: 7459161
references.citation: Int J Epidemiol. 2009 Oct;38(5):1310-22
references.pmid: 19528192
references.citation: Health Econ. 2010 Apr;19(4):466-84
references.pmid: 19382102
references.citation: Twin Res. 2002 Oct;5(5):449-55
references.pmid: 12537875
references.citation: Annu Rev Neurosci. 1998;21:1-24
references.pmid: 9530489
references.citation: J Health Econ. 2010 Jan;29(1):1-28
references.pmid: 19963292
references.citation: Am Econ Rev. 2013 Oct;103(6):2087-120
references.pmid: 29533059
references.citation: J Health Soc Behav. 1995;Spec No:80-94
references.pmid: 7560851
references.citation: J Health Econ. 2010 Jan;29(1):29-38
references.pmid: 20116872
references.citation: J Health Econ. 2009 Jan;28(1):155-68
references.pmid: 18976824
references.citation: J Health Econ. 2006 Nov;25(6):1094-118
references.pmid: 16730082
references.citation: Soc Sci Med. 2008 Dec;67(11):1898-906
references.pmid: 18930339
references.citation: J Hum Resour. 2009 Apr 1;4:1-33
references.pmid: 21874068