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.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 10 |
| Number of pages | 16 |
| Journal | IZA Journal of Labor Economics |
| Volume | 4 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Dec 2015 |
| Externally published | Yes |