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
CITATION STYLE
Hubers, F., & Webbink, D. (2015). The long-term effects of military conscription on educational attainment and wages. IZA Journal of Labor Economics, 4(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40172-015-0026-4
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