The effect of military service on educational, occupational, and income attainment

We examine the relationship between military service and educational, occupational, and income attainment in three cohorts of young men spanning the period from the late 1960s to the early 1980s. This is a period covering the war in Vietnam, the end of the draft, and the beginning of the All-volunteer Force. We consider the effect of military service separately for African-American men and white men and take into account the potential confounding influence of unmeasured self-selection into the military. Our results indicate that there is a relationship between military service and subsequent attainment, but it varies according to race and is dependent on historical context. (C) 1996 Academic Press, Inc.