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Petter Lundborg. Photo.

Petter Lundborg

Professor

Petter Lundborg. Photo.

The Opportunity Costs of Mandatory Military Service : Evidence from a Draft Lottery

Author

  • Paul Bingley
  • Petter Lundborg
  • Stéphanie V. Lyk-Jensen

Summary, in English

Conscription forces young men to serve in the military, irrespective of their opportunity costs. Using random assignment in the Danish draft lottery, we find a negative average effect of peacetime military service on earnings, an effect varying by ability, with high-ability men facing a $23,000 lifetime earnings penalty but with low-ability men facing none. This gradient is robust to different measures of labor market prospects. Educational disruption is an important mechanism, while service has little effect on health or criminal activity. The opportunity costs of conscription are borne by men with the best labor market prospects.

Department/s

  • Department of Economics
  • Centre for Economic Demography

Publishing year

2020-01

Language

English

Pages

39-66

Publication/Series

Journal of Labor Economics

Volume

38

Issue

1

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

University of Chicago Press

Topic

  • Economics

Status

Published

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 1537-5307