Examining Labor Force Outcomes from the Vietnam War: Volunteers versus Draftees​, Poster 18

To serve or not to serve? For many years, economists have analyzed whether or not there is a future labor market benefit if one joins the military. However, there have been many confounding variables that might bias results... [ view full abstract ]

To serve or not to serve? For many years, economists have analyzed whether or not there is a future labor market benefit if one joins the military. However, there have been many confounding variables that might bias results in comparing veterans versus nonveterans. Therefore, many scholars have researched the Vietnam War due to the randomized nature of the draft lotteries, creating representative populations of both veterans and nonveterans. However, very little research has been done comparing volunteers versus draftees. This study compares the labor force results of those who served willingly between those who were drafted. In other words, is there a beneficial patriot effect in the labor force for veterans who served for their own personal incentives versus their draftee counterparts? In order to examine this effect, I will use data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Young Men, which interviewed young males born between 1942-1952 twelve times spanning from the years of 1966-1981.