Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Does Employment Slow Cognitive Decline? Evidence from Labor Market Shocks

nber.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

21–30 of 395 posts

Re: Does Employment Slow Cognitive Decline? Evidence from Labor Market Shocks

#21

Post by LeCompteSftware »

gruez wrote: post #13
LeCompteSftware wrote: post #4

It's 48 pages and I haven't read it fully, but it seems almost childlike that the paper doesn't address the obvious confounding variable: "Does Unemployment Make It More Likely for Late Middle-Aged People, Particularly Men, To Drink Alcohol? Evidence From We Obviously Should Have Considered This In The Paper, Perhaps We Are Too Sheltered" To be clear I am not being pedantic. The paper explicitly endorses the policy o…

>but it seems almost childlike that the paper doesn't address the obvious confounding variable: I thought that's the reason why they used "Evidence from Labor Market Shocks"? The idea is that when "Labor Market Shocks" (ie. mass layoffs) happen, the people who lose their jobs are somewhat random, so there isn't the confounding variable of low performers/sick people.

It's not about "low performers / sick people," it's unemployment itself (especially sudden layoffs) making people more susceptible to substance abuse, regardless of their health when they're unemployed.

Re: Does Employment Slow Cognitive Decline? Evidence from Labor Market Shocks

#23

Post by tombert »

Interesting.

I haven't read the paper yet so forgive a bit of ignorance here, but I feel like when I'm unemployed, I actively spend all my time trying to learn new things. This is no small part because otherwise I get depressed because I am spending all my time on YouTube and there are only so many "documentaries" about Lolcows that I can stomach, so I dive head first into projects, usually buying a few cheap textbooks in the process to play with new things. The days are way too long if I don't have something interesting to occupy my time, and I feel less guilty if that time is spent doing something quasi-intellectual instead of playing Donkey Kong Country again.

I didn't think I was an outlier with this, but maybe I am?

Re: Does Employment Slow Cognitive Decline? Evidence from Labor Market Shocks

#24

Post by seattle_spring »

tombert wrote: post #23

Interesting. I haven't read the paper yet so forgive a bit of ignorance here, but I feel like when I'm unemployed, I actively spend all my time trying to learn new things. This is no small part because otherwise I get depressed because I am spending all my time on YouTube and there are only so many "documentaries" about Lolcows that I can stomach, so I dive head first into projects, usually buying a few cheap textboo…

I think you might be. Most retired folks I know just end up watching TV all day. Not even "good" TV-- it's mostly game-shows and 24-hour news cycles.

Re: Does Employment Slow Cognitive Decline? Evidence from Labor Market Shocks

#25

Post by rrgok »

tombert wrote: post #23

Interesting. I haven't read the paper yet so forgive a bit of ignorance here, but I feel like when I'm unemployed, I actively spend all my time trying to learn new things. This is no small part because otherwise I get depressed because I am spending all my time on YouTube and there are only so many "documentaries" about Lolcows that I can stomach, so I dive head first into projects, usually buying a few cheap textboo…

I'm the same. Free Time = Things to explore and learn.

Re: Does Employment Slow Cognitive Decline? Evidence from Labor Market Shocks

#26

Post by steveBK123 »

nate wrote: post #14

We probably all have anecdotal evidence here, but my father is a perfect example of being no longer employed and a ton of stuff declining. Yes, cognitively, but a lot of health. We're talking not just your "career". He was a commercial real estate agent. But in his 80s he was working at Menards as a greeter and stocker. And it kept him busy. Getting out of the house. Figuring things out. Meeting and talking to people…

Saw similar with my grandmothers. One had a busy social live and volunteer schedule for 20+ years, the other.. did not.

A reminder that you cannot simply retire FROM something (work, commuting, etc) but must retire TO something (hobbies, social life, second career, volunteering, etc).

There's always more opportunities in the community than there are volunteers, so look around.

Re: Does Employment Slow Cognitive Decline? Evidence from Labor Market Shocks

#28

Post by bcrosby95 »

nate wrote: post #14

We probably all have anecdotal evidence here, but my father is a perfect example of being no longer employed and a ton of stuff declining. Yes, cognitively, but a lot of health. We're talking not just your "career". He was a commercial real estate agent. But in his 80s he was working at Menards as a greeter and stocker. And it kept him busy. Getting out of the house. Figuring things out. Meeting and talking to people…

It's hard to really say from anecdotes. My uncle retired early and was sharp as a whip until 86 or so. Then decline hit him hard. There was no change in life circumstances, he just got old.

Also, I think you'll find that taking care of someone who can't take care of themselves is a lot of work. I had to do it for my mom for 6 months and its a ton of stuff. Talking to doctors. Arranging appointments. Etc.

Re: Does Employment Slow Cognitive Decline? Evidence from Labor Market Shocks

#29

Post by ericmay »

nate wrote: post #14

We probably all have anecdotal evidence here, but my father is a perfect example of being no longer employed and a ton of stuff declining. Yes, cognitively, but a lot of health. We're talking not just your "career". He was a commercial real estate agent. But in his 80s he was working at Menards as a greeter and stocker. And it kept him busy. Getting out of the house. Figuring things out. Meeting and talking to people…

As a general comment, I'd like to say that getting out of the house is a hell of a lot easier when you don't have to drive everywhere to participate in daily life. So and so family member sits at home and watches TV all day is a phenomenon caused primarily by our car-centric culture which, for the elderly, is a barrier to staying healthy both mentally and physically.
Post reply on HN