Un-Fortunate Sons: Effects of the Vietnam Draft Lottery on the Next Generation's Labor Market

Abstract

A b s t r a c tWe study how randomized variation from the Vietnam draft lottery affects the next generation's labor market. Using the universe of federal tax returns, we link fathers from draft cohorts to their sons and offer two primary findings. First, sons of men called by the lottery have lower earnings and labor force participation than their peers. Second, they are more likely to volunteer for military service themselves. Similar but smaller effects are uncovered for daughters. Our findings demonstrate that manipulating parents' circumstances can alter children's later-life outcomes and, more specifically, are consistent with two separately operating channels: (1) parental inputs as important determinants of human capital development and (2) intergenerational transmission of occupation.