To Draft or Not to Draft? Efficiency, Generational Incidence, and Political Economy of Military Conscription

Arbeitspapier

We study the efficiency and distributional consequences of establishing and abolishing the draft in a dynamic model with overlapping generations, taking into account endogenous human capital formation as well as government budget constraints. The introduction of the draft initially benefits the older generation while harming the young and all future generations. Its Pareto-improving abolition requires levying age-dependent taxes on the young. These being infeasible, abolition of the draft would harm the old. The intergenerational incidence of the gains and losses from its introduction and abolition helps to explain the political allure of the draft.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: IZA Discussion Papers ; No. 1559

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement ; Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue: General ; National Government Expenditures and Related Policies: Procurement ; Analysis of Education
• Subject: draft ; conscription ; education ; intergenerational fairness ; Wehrdienst ; Bildungsinvestition ; Overlapping Generations ; Generationenbeziehungen ; Gerechtigkeit ; Public Choice ; Theorie

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Poutvaara, Panu ; Wagener, Andreas
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)
• (where): Bonn
• (when): 2005

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/21335
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:43 AM CET