The long-term effects of military conscription on educational attainment and wages

Frank Hubers () and Dinand Webbink ()

IZA Journal of Labor Economics, 2015, vol. 4, issue 1, 1-16

Abstract: This study investigates the long-term effects of peace-time military conscription on educational attainment and earnings by exploiting a policy change that exempted a complete birth cohort from military service. We find that compulsory military service decreases the proportion of Dutch university graduates by 1.5 percentage points from a baseline of 12.3 per cent. In addition, being a conscript reduces the probability of obtaining a university degree by almost four percentage points. The effect of military service on earnings is also negative and long-lasting. Approximately 18 years after military service, we still find a negative effect of 3 to 4 per cent. The effect of conscription on educational attainment does not fully explain the wage reduction. Jel classification H56; J31; J24 Copyright Hubers and Webbink; licensee Springer. 2015

Keywords: Military conscription; Long-term earnings; Human capital; University enrolment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (15)

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DOI: 10.1186/s40172-015-0026-4

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