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The Role of Economists in Ending the Draft

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  • David R. Henderson

Abstract

Economists laid much of the intellectual foundation for ending military conscription in the United States. Walter Oi and others laid out a solid analytic case against the draft, pointing out that the cost of a drafted military exceeded the cost of an all-volunteer force but that this cost fell heavily on the shoulders of draftees and draft-induced volunteers. Economists, including Milton Friedman, James C. Miller III, and W. Allen Wallis, made this case to the public. Economists were heavily involved in writing the staff reports for the President’s Commission on the All-Volunteer Force. When the draft rears its ugly head, economists are freedom’s first line of defense.

Suggested Citation

  • David R. Henderson, 2005. "The Role of Economists in Ending the Draft," Econ Journal Watch, Econ Journal Watch, vol. 2(2), pages 362-376, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:ejw:journl:v:2:y:2005:i:2:p:362-376
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Stuart H. Altman, 1969. "Earnings, Unemployment, and the Supply of Enlisted Volunteers," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 4(1), pages 38-59.
    2. repec:ucp:bkecon:9780226264141 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. David F. Bradford, 1968. "A Model of the Enlistment Decision under Draft Uncertainty," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 82(4), pages 621-638.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Perri Tim, 2010. "Deferments and the Relative Cost of Conscription," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 10(1), pages 1-29, November.
    2. Danko Tarabar & Joshua C. Hall, 2016. "Explaining the worldwide decline in the length of mandatory military service, 1970–2010," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 168(1), pages 55-74, July.
    3. Thomas Duncan & Christopher Coyne, 2013. "The overlooked costs of the permanent war economy: A market process approach," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 26(4), pages 413-431, December.
    4. Louis Rouanet & Ennio E Piano, 0. "Filling the ranks: the Remplacement Militaire in post-revolutionary France," European Review of Economic History, European Historical Economics Society, vol. 24(4), pages 696-715.
    5. Henrik Lindberg, 2007. "The Role of Economists in Liberalizing Swedish Agriculture," Econ Journal Watch, Econ Journal Watch, vol. 4(2), pages 213-229, May.
    6. Joshua D. Angrist & Stacey H. Chen, 2007. "Long-term consequences of vietnam-era conscription: schooling, experience, and earnings," NBER Working Papers 13411, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Cole, Julio H., 2007. "Milton Friedman (1912 – 2006)," Documentos de trabajo 1/2007, Instituto de Investigaciones Socio-Económicas (IISEC), Universidad Católica Boliviana.
    8. Lanny Ebenstein, 2014. "The Increasingly Libertarian Milton Friedman: An Ideological Profile," Econ Journal Watch, Econ Journal Watch, vol. 11(1), pages 81-96, January.
    9. Danko Tarabar & Joshua C. Hall, 2015. "Explaining the Worldwide Decline in Military Conscription: 1970-2010," Working Papers 15-30, Department of Economics, West Virginia University.

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    Keywords

    draft; conscription; mercenary;
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