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Military conscription and university enrolment: evidence from Italy

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  • Giorgio Pietro

Abstract

This paper analyses the effect of the abolition of compulsory military service (CMS) on university enrolment in Italy. A triple-difference model is used to account for various potentially confounding factors. The identification strategy exploits variation along three dimensions: (a) between gender, (b) between age-groups and (c) between time periods. The results show that there is no statistically significant evidence suggesting that the abolition of CMS has a causal effect on the decision to enrol in university studies. Estimates obtained employing a double-difference model exploiting variation along the dimensions (a) and (b) overestimate the effect. Finally, although there is no statistically significant overall effect, we find some evidence of heterogeneous effects between students from different social backgrounds. Copyright Springer-Verlag 2013

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  • Giorgio Pietro, 2013. "Military conscription and university enrolment: evidence from Italy," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 26(2), pages 619-644, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jopoec:v:26:y:2013:i:2:p:619-644
    DOI: 10.1007/s00148-012-0407-y
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    1. Bauer, Thomas K. & Bender, Stefan & Paloyo, Alfredo R. & Schmidt, Christoph M., 2012. "Evaluating the labor-market effects of compulsory military service," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 56(4), pages 814-829.
    2. Jussi Heikkilä & Ina Laukkanen, 2022. "Gender-specific Call of Duty: A Note on the Neglect of Conscription in Gender Equality Indices," Defence and Peace Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(5), pages 603-615, July.
    3. Elena Kotyrlo & Elena Varshavskaya, 2022. "Impact of the compulsory military service reform of 2007–2008 on the demand for higher education," Economics of Transition and Institutional Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(4), pages 715-735, October.
    4. Bauer, Thomas K. & Bender, Stefan & Paloyo, Alfredo R. & Schmidt, Christoph M., 2014. "Do guns displace books? The impact of compulsory military service on educational attainment," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 124(3), pages 513-515.
    5. Frank Hubers & Dinand Webbink, 2015. "The long-term effects of military conscription on educational attainment and wages," IZA Journal of Labor Economics, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 4(1), pages 1-16, December.
    6. Marta Schoch, 2020. "Essays on political economy, inequality and development," Economics PhD Theses 0120, Department of Economics, University of Sussex Business School.
    7. Torun, Huzeyfe & Tumen, Semih, 2016. "The effects of compulsory military service exemption on education and labor market outcomes: Evidence from a natural experiment," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 16-35.
    8. Katarina Keller & Panu Poutvaara & Andreas Wagener, 2010. "Does a Military Draft Discourage Enrollment in Higher Education?," FinanzArchiv: Public Finance Analysis, Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, vol. 66(2), pages 97-120, June.
    9. Savčić, Ružica & Theodoropoulos, Nikolaos & Xefteris, Dimitrios, 2020. "Conscription and Educational Outcomes: Quasi-Experimental Evidence from the Republic of Cyprus," GLO Discussion Paper Series 628, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    10. Reizer, Balázs & Háló, Buda, 2020. "A sorkatonaság munkaerőpiaci hatásai Magyarországon [The effect of compulsory military service on wages in Hungary]," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(9), pages 878-910.
    11. De Paola, Maria & Gioia, Francesca & Scoppa, Vincenzo, 2018. "The adverse consequences of tournaments: Evidence from a field experiment," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 151(C), pages 1-18.
    12. Pierre Mouganie, 2020. "Conscription and the Returns to Education: Evidence from a Regression Discontinuity," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 122(3), pages 1112-1139, July.
    13. Giacomo De Giorgi & Marco Paccagnella & Michele Pellizzari, 2013. "Gender complementarities in the labor market," Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional Papers) 183, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    14. Katarina Keller & Panu Poutvaara & Andreas Wagener, 2009. "Does Military Draft Discourage Enrollment in Higher Education? Evidence from OECD Countries," CESifo Working Paper Series 2838, CESifo.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Compulsory military service; University enrolment; Triple-difference estimation; I20; J24;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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