Ageing and literacy skills: Evidence from Canada, Norway and the United States

We study the relationship between age and literacy skills in Canada, Norway and the U.S. — countries that represent a wide range of literacy outcomes — using data from the 1994 and 2003 International Adult Literacy Surveys. In cross-sectional data there is a weak negative partial relationship betwee...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Labour economics 2013-06, Vol.22 (22), p.16-29
Main Authors: Green, David A, Riddell, W. Craig
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult literacy
Age
Altersabhängigkeit
Bildungsabschluss
Cognitive skills, ageing
Correlation analysis
Erwachsener
Human capital
Internationaler Vergleich
Kanada
Kognitive Kompetenz
Lebenslauf
Lesen
Literacy
Norwegen
Schreiben
Skills
Sozioökonomischer Faktor
Studies
USA
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Summary:We study the relationship between age and literacy skills in Canada, Norway and the U.S. — countries that represent a wide range of literacy outcomes — using data from the 1994 and 2003 International Adult Literacy Surveys. In cross-sectional data there is a weak negative partial relationship between literacy skills and age. However, this relationship could reflect some combination of age and cohort effects. In order to identify age effects, we use the 1994 and 2003 surveys to create synthetic cohorts. Our analysis shows that the modest negative slope of the literacy-age profile in cross-sectional data arises from offsetting ageing and cohort effects. Individuals from a given birth cohort lose literacy skills after they leave school at a rate greater than indicated by cross-sectional estimates. At the same time, more recent birth cohorts have lower levels of literacy. All three countries show similar patterns of skill loss with age, as well as declining literacy across successive cohorts. ► A weak negative relation between literacy and age is observed in cross-section data ► This relationship arises from a combination of offsetting ageing and cohort effects ► Literacy declines with age at a rate greater than estimated with cross-section data ► More recent birth cohorts leave school with lower levels of literacy ► All three countries show these patterns
ISSN:0927-5371
1879-1034
DOI:10.1016/j.labeco.2012.08.011