Full Citation
Title: The Intergenerational Transmission of War
Citation Type: Miscellaneous
Publication Year: 2015
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Abstract: We study whether war service by one generation affects service by the next generation in later wars, in the context of the major U.S. theaters of the 20th century. To identify a causal effect, we exploit the fact that general suitability for service implies that the closer to age 21 an individuals father happened to be at a time of war is a key determinant of the fathers likelihood of participation. We find that a fathers war service has a positive and significant effect on his sons likelihood of service in the next generations war. Across all wars, we estimate an intergenerational transmission parameter of approximately 0.1. Quantitatively, our estimates imply that each individual war had a substantial impact on service in those that followed. This effect cannot be explained by broader occupational choice or labor market opportunity channels: fathers war service increases sons educational achievement and actually reduces the likelihood of military service outside of wartime. Instead, we find evidence consistent with cultural transmission from fathers to sons. Taken together, our results indicate that a history of wars helps countries overcome the collective action problem of getting citizens to volunteer for war service.
Url: http://econ.as.nyu.edu/docs/IO/36991/ITOW.pdf
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Authors: Campante, Filipe; Yanagizawa-Drott, David
Publisher: Harvard Kennedy School
Data Collections: IPUMS USA
Topics: Family and Marriage, Labor Force and Occupational Structure, Other
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