Yeah, that was my first question: Is this not just a hopelessly confounded correlational study? I was disappointed that the article didn't seem to talk about t

Yeah, that was my first question: Is this not just a hopelessly confounded correlational study? I was disappointed that the article didn't seem to talk about this. Well, at least it links to the paper, so here's a starting point: "In this paper, we estimate the causal effect of the NRPS program on cognition among individuals ages 60 and above. The expansion of the program affected an easily identifiable group, as the policy was introduced only in select areas. Our identification employs a triple difference (DDD) strategy. We exploit the staggered policy implementation between 2009 and 2013 and compare the cognitive outcomes of individuals 60 years and older who live in areas that implemented the NRPS program to the cognitive outcomes of individuals of the same age group who live in areas that did not implement the NRPS program."