Above and beyond the call. Long-term real earnings effects of British male military conscription in the post-war years

Citation

Grenet J, Hart RA & Roberts JE (2011) Above and beyond the call. Long-term real earnings effects of British male military conscription in the post-war years. Labour Economics, 18 (2), pp. 194-204. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.labeco.2010.09.001

Abstract
We add to the literature on the long-term economic effects of male military service. We concentrate on post-war British conscription into the armed services from 1949 to 1960. It was called National Service and applied to males aged 18 to 26. Based on a regression discontinuity design we estimate the effect of military service on the earnings of those required to serve through conscription. We argue that, in general, we should not expect to find large long-term real earnings among conscripts compared to later birth cohorts of males who were not eligible for call-up. Our empirical evidence firmly rejects the view that conscription entails relative long-term real earnings differences.

Keywords
National Service; WWII conscription; long-term real earnings; regression discontinuity design; J24; J31; N44; Draft Great Britain History 20th century; Draft Great Britain Economic aspects; Great Britain Armed forces Appropriations and expenditures

Journal
Labour Economics: Volume 18, Issue 2