Un-Fortunate Sons: Effects of the Vietnam Draft Lottery on the Next Generation’s Labor Market

We examine whether the considerable shock generated by the Vietnam draft lottery affected the next generation’s labor market. Using the universe of US federal tax returns, we link fathers from draft cohorts to their sons’ adult outcomes and find that sons of fathers randomly called by the draft have...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American economic journal. Applied economics 2020-01, Vol.12 (1), p.182-209
Main Authors: Goodman, Sarena, Isen, Adam
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:We examine whether the considerable shock generated by the Vietnam draft lottery affected the next generation’s labor market. Using the universe of US federal tax returns, we link fathers from draft cohorts to their sons’ adult outcomes and find that sons of fathers randomly called by the draft have lower earnings and are more likely to volunteer for military service. Our results demonstrate that malleable aspects of a parent’s life course can influence children’s labor market outcomes and provide sound evidence that policies that only directly alter the circumstances of one generation can have important long-run effects on the next.
ISSN:1945-7782
1945-7790
DOI:10.1257/app.20170482