%0 Thesis %B Economics %D 2021 %T THREE ESSAYS ON THE ECONOMICS OF THE ELDERLY %A Adelman, Alan %K Cognition %K Retirement %X The following three essays cover topics on the economics of aging. In the first paper, I estimate the effect of pre-retirement cognitive ability on retirement behavior using the Health and Retirement Study. I find that cognitive ability delays retirement by extending labor force participation past the age of 65. I also find evidence that cognitive ability increases the propensity to delay Social Security benefits. These findings suggest that cognitive ability has a protective effect on labor force attachment and delays transition into retirement. The second paper uses a novel data set from China to study how instituting a pension program can influence individual cognition. Collaborating with Plamen Nikolov, we find that introducing pension benefits has a negative effect on the cognitive functioning among the elderly. The largest effect size was on the delayed recall test, which is a significant predictor of the onset of dementia. We also find suggestive evidence that the program has a larger impact among women. This chapter shows that retirement plays a significant role in explaining cognitive decline at older ages. The third paper is a collaboration with Hwan-sik Choi. In this chapter we study the role of noncognitive ability, focusing on Conscientiousness, in wealth accumulation and its indirect effect through the health status channel. Conscientiousness is associated with an increase in total net wealth. The indirect effect through health status is positive and a substantial portion of the total effect of Conscientiousness. We explore novel instruments for health status using polygenic scores and obtain similar results to the OLS results: Conscientiousness plays an important role in wealth accumulation and a fundamental factor behind the health effect on wealth accumulation. %B Economics %I The State University of New York at Binghamton %V Ph.D. %G eng %U https://www.proquest.com/openview/a43ca4958ca58c90c118cd2334119879/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y