Battle Scars? The Puzzling Decline in Employment and Rise in Disability Receipt Among Vietnam Era Veterans

Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Penn collection
Health Care Management Papers
Degree type
Discipline
Subject
Disability Law
Finance
Funder
Grant number
License
Copyright date
Distributor
Related resources
Author
Autor, David H
Duggan, Mark
Lyle, David S
Contributor
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.

Advisor
Date Range for Data Collection (Start Date)
Date Range for Data Collection (End Date)
Digital Object Identifier
Series name and number
Publication date
2011-05-01
Journal title
American Economic Review
Volume number
Issue number
Publisher
Publisher DOI
Journal Issue
Comments
Recommended citation
Collection