Long-term consequences of vietnam-era conscription: schooling, experience, and earnings

Joshua Angrist () and Stacey Chen ()

No 13411, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: This paper uses the 2000 Census 1-in-6 sample to look at the long-term impact of Vietnam-era military service. Instrumental Variables estimates using draft-lottery instruments show post-service earnings losses close to zero in 2000, in contrast with earlier results showing substantial earnings losses for white veterans in the 1970s and 1980s. The estimates also point to a marked increase in schooling that appears to be attributable to the Vietnam-era GI Bill. The net wage effects observed in the 2000 data can be explained by a flattening of the experience profile in middle age and a modest return to the increased schooling generated by the GI Bill. Evidence on disability effects is mixed but seems inconsistent with a long-term effect of Vietnam-era military service on health.

JEL-codes: I18 I22 J24 J31 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-his and nep-lab
Date: 2007-09
Note: ED HE LS
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