Battle Scars? The Puzzling Decline in Employment and Rise in Disability Receipt among Vietnam Era Veterans
David H. Autor, Mark G. Duggan, David S. Lyle
American Economic Review · 2011 · Volume 101 · Issue 3
Abstract
Using Current Population Survey and US Army administrative data, we document that between 2000 and 2010, the employment rate of Vietnam era veterans fell markedly relative to non-veterans of the same cohorts while simultaneously their enrollment increased steeply in the Veterans Disability Compensation (DC) program, which provides healthcare and transfer payments to veterans with service-connected disabilities. Thirty percent of Vietnam era Army veterans enrolled in DC in 2006 received benefits for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, with median annual payments of $25,500. The declining employment and rising transfer payments to Vietnam era veterans underscore the long-term private and public costs of wartime service, potentially stemming from both adverse health consequences and policies that have expanded benefits eligibility.
Keywords
Taxation and Subsidies: Externalities, Redistributive Effects, Environmental Taxes and Subsidies, Health Production, Health: Government Policy, Regulation, Public Health, Economics of the Elderly, Economics of the Handicapped, Non-labor Market Discrimination, Public Sector Labor Markets
Enable JavaScript for citation tools and additional paper interactions.