Vassar College Economics Working Paper #75

Does Post-Graduate Education Affect Women’s Investment in Health? A Study of the Determinants of Preventative Health

by Shirley Johnson-Lans (October 2005)

Abstract

        This study examines the effect of having a post graduate degree on investment in health measured by several forms of preventive health care, both medical and non-medical. The likelihood that a woman will choose to have a general physical examination, a gynecological examination, or a mammogram at least biannually and a flu shot within the most recent flu season is modeled as a function of her education level and a set of personal demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. Whether those who have continued their education beyond the bachelor’s degree behave differently with respect to exercise, eating a healthy diet, and smoking, is also investigated. An original data set, composed of samples of four alumnae classes of women who were educated at the same undergraduate institution, Vassar College, is employed in order to isolate the marginal effects of post-graduate education.