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Career Interruption and Productivity: Evidence from Major League Baseball during the Vietnam War Era

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  • Brennan Mange
  • David C. Phillips

Abstract

Can temporary shocks to training and early career experience permanently reduce productivity? Using detailed data on the careers and productivity of Major League Baseball players subject to the Vietnam War draft, we find that birth dates randomly drawn in the draft produce 19 percent fewer major league players. Players born on draft days who do make it to Major League Baseball produce 29 percent fewer wins than those born on nondraft days, a gap that is largest for the most productive players and persists as players age. In addition, the tendency of the draft to push men toward more schooling generates at least some of our results.

Suggested Citation

  • Brennan Mange & David C. Phillips, 2016. "Career Interruption and Productivity: Evidence from Major League Baseball during the Vietnam War Era," Journal of Human Capital, University of Chicago Press, vol. 10(2), pages 159-185.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucp:jhucap:doi:10.1086/686224
    DOI: 10.1086/686224
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    2. Steven Salaga & Brian M. Mills & Scott Tainsky, 2020. "Employer-Assigned Workload and Human Capital Deterioration: Evidence From the National Football League," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 21(6), pages 628-659, August.

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