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Enlist or enroll: Credit constraints, college aid, and the military enlistment margin

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  • Barr, Andrew

Abstract

Money for education is a primary motivation for military enlistment. One explanation is that individuals use these benefits to overcome borrowing constraints. I explore this by examining the enlistment response of individuals to additional financial aid that can be used immediately upon high-school graduation or delayed until after military enlistment. I find that the introduction of a merit-aid program decreases the probability that a male enlists in the military by 0.6 percentage points (a 6% reduction), and that these effects are concentrated among applicants who are more likely to qualify for merit scholarships. The reductions are largest in low-income areas, supporting the argument that the effects on enlistment are a result of easing financial constraints.

Suggested Citation

  • Barr, Andrew, 2016. "Enlist or enroll: Credit constraints, college aid, and the military enlistment margin," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 61-78.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecoedu:v:51:y:2016:i:c:p:61-78
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econedurev.2015.06.003
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Torun, Huzeyfe, 2019. "Ex-ante labor market effects of compulsory military service," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(1), pages 90-110.
    2. Matthew Baird & Michael S. Kofoed & Trey Miller & Jennie Wenger, 2022. "Veteran Educators or For‐Profiteers? Tuition Responses to Changes in the Post‐9/11 GI Bill," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 41(4), pages 1012-1039, September.
    3. Torun, Huzeyfe & Tumen, Semih, 2016. "The effects of compulsory military service exemption on education and labor market outcomes: Evidence from a natural experiment," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 16-35.
    4. Todd R. Jones & Daniel Kreisman & Ross Rubenstein & Cynthia Searcy & Rachana Bhatt, 2022. "The Effects of Financial Aid Loss on Persistence and Graduation: A Multi-Dimensional Regression Discontinuity Approach," Education Finance and Policy, MIT Press, vol. 17(2), pages 206-231, Spring.
    5. Andrew Barr, 2015. "From the Battlefield to the Schoolyard: The Short- Term Impact of the Post- 9/11 GI Bill," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 50(3), pages 580-613.
    6. Cáceres-Delpiano, Julio, 2019. "The Impact of Mandatory Military Service. Evidence from Spain," UC3M Working papers. Economics 27980, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid. Departamento de Economía.
    7. Braga, Breno & Malkova, Olga, 2020. "Hope for the Family: The Effects of College Costs on Maternal Labor Supply," IZA Discussion Papers 12958, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Credit constraints; Financial aid; Military enlistment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I22 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Educational Finance; Financial Aid
    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions
    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality

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