Does Peacetime Military Service Affect Crime?

B-Tier
Journal: Scandanavian Journal of Economics
Year: 2017
Volume: 119
Issue: 3
Pages: 512-540

Authors (4)

Karsten Albæk (Nationale Forsknings- og Analy...) Søren Leth‐Petersen (not in RePEc) Daniel le Maire (Københavns Universitet) Torben Tranæs (not in RePEc)

Score contribution per author:

0.503 = (α=2.01 / 4 authors) × 1.0x B-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

Draft lottery data combined with Danish longitudinal administrative records show that military service can reduce criminal activity for youth offenders. For this group, property crime is reduced, and our results indicate that the effect is unlikely to be the result of incapacitation only. We find no effect of military service on violent crime, on educational attainment, or on employment and earnings, either in the short run or in the long run. These results suggest that military service does not upgrade productive human capital directly, but rather affects criminal activity through other channels (e.g., by changing attitudes to criminal activity).

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:bla:scandj:v:119:y:2017:i:3:p:512-540
Journal Field
General
Author Count
4
Added to Database
2026-01-24