Citation

Autor DH, Duggan MG, Lyle DS. Am. Econ. Rev. 2011; 101(3): 339-344.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2011, American Economic Association)

DOI

10.1257/aer.101.3.339

PMID

unavailable

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.

Language: en

Keywords

Economics of the Handicapped; Environmental Taxes and Subsidies, Health Production, Health: Government Policy; Non-labor Market Discrimination, Public Sector Labor Markets; Public Health, Economics of the Elderly; Redistributive Effects; Regulation; Taxation and Subsidies: Externalities