“Gallantry in Action”: Evidence of Advantageous Selection in a Voluntary Army

Authors

Javier A. BirchenallFollow
Thomas G. KochFollow

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Abstract

A voluntary army’s quality exceeds or falls below a drafted army’s average quality depending on whether selection is advantageous or adverse. Using a collection of data sets that cover the majority of the US Army soldiers during World War II, we test for adverse selection into the army. Rather, we find advantageous selection: volunteers and drafted men showed no significant difference in fatalities, but volunteers earned distinguished awards at a higher rate than drafted men, particularly after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Analyses at the level of units concur with our findings based on enlistment records.

Recommended Citation

Birchenall, Javier A. and Koch, Thomas G. (2015) "“Gallantry in Action”: Evidence of Advantageous Selection in a Voluntary Army," Journal of Law and Economics: Vol. 58: No. 1, Article 4.
Available at: https://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/jle/vol58/iss1/4