Serving Countries, Shaping Views: Military Conscription and Attitude Towards Immigrants

Giacomo De Luca, Andrea Montalbano and Steven Stillman ()
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Giacomo De Luca: University of Edinburgh
Andrea Montalbano: Free University of Bozen-Bolzano
Steven Stillman: Free University of Bozen/Bolzano

No 18003, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: We study the long-term impact of compulsory military service, a powerful nation building tool, on attitudes toward immigrants. Using a regression discontinuity design, we compare cohorts of men required to serve with those exempted due to suspension of compulsory service in 21 European countries. We find that conscripts exhibit more negative attitudes towards immigrants, whereas this is not true for women in the same birth cohorts. The impact is more pronounced in countries with high levels of immigration, and when the military service was done during a left-wing government, and hence provided a stronger change in narrative during a crucial formative period.

Keywords: identity; conscription; nation building; immigration; discrimination (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D71 F22 I28 Z13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025-07
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-mig
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