We examine whether delaying selection into secondary school streams can reduce socioeconomic inequality in cognitive aging. We link data on individuals aged 50+ from 14 European countries in the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) to a newly compiled database on reforms that postponed the age of first tracking. Exploiting within-country, within-cohort variation in tracking age, we find that later tracking significantly reduces socioeconomic status (SES)-related disparities in late-life cognition. A one-year increase in tracking age relative to the sample median reduces the SES gradient in word recall by around 8%. Furthermore, our analysis shows that delayed tracking narrows SES gaps in completed years of education and in completion of at least vocational upper-secondary school. It also improves access to white-collar, high-prestige and less physically demanding first jobs. These findings suggest that education policy should be incorporated into broader strategies aimed at reducing health disparities throughout the lifespan. • Cognitive decline is a key issue faced by aging societies in the coming decades • Little attention to how education policy shapes cognitive outcomes by social group • Later school tracking flattens SES gradients in late-life cognition about 8% • Delayed tracking narrows the SES gap in educational outcomes • Later tracking steers low-SES youth into less strenuous, higher-status jobs
Re et al. (Sun,) studied this question.