Petter Lundborg
Professor
The Opportunity Costs of Mandatory Military Service : Evidence from a Draft Lottery
Author
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