Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and the Earnings of Military Reservists.

This study investigates the effects of having symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on the labor market earnings of reservists in the years following deployment. Data on more than 315,000 reservists returning from deployments between 2003 and 2006, combined with longitudinal labor market earnings data, indicate that reservists who have symptoms of PTSD do earn substantially less than those who do not experience PTSD, but much of that gap in earnings was apparent prior to deployment. This suggests that characteristics of individuals reporting symptoms of PTSD that typically are not controlled for in empirical studies are responsible for much of the observed difference in earnings. Controlling for such characteristics, the study finds that reservists reporting symptoms of PTSD on average earn up to 6 percent less than they would have earned if they had not had such symptoms in the first four years following deployment. These lower earnings are attributable to higher military separation rates, a concomitant decline in military earnings, and no compensating increase in civilian labor market earnings.

The Effect of the Assessment of Recruit Motivation and Strength (ARMS) Program on Army Accessions and Attrition.

The fraction of American youth meeting U.S. Army enlistment standards for weight and body fat has decreased markedly over the past three decades. In response to this adverse trend, in 2005, the Army allowed six Military Entrance Processing Stations (MEPS) to grant an enlistment waiver to applicants who exceeded weight and body fat standards as long as they passed a physical endurance, motivation, and strength test known as the Assessment of Recruit Motivation and Strength (ARMS) test. The test was developed by Army medical scientists who believed that it complements existing physical tests used to identify potential enlistees who would and would not fare well in the military. The Army implemented ARMS at eight additional MEPS in February 2006 and then at the remaining 51 MEPS in April 2006. The authors find that ARMS increased male and female accessions of overweight applicants in the six ARMS study sites by 35 and 62 percent, respectively, between 2004 and 2005. They also report that this substantial increase in overweight accessions had no effect on 6- and 18-month attrition rates. Given the low cost of implementing the program, the authors conclude that ARMS is a highly cost-effective means of screening overweight applicants for military service.

Endowments and parental investments in infancy and early childhood.

This article tests whether parents reinforce or compensate for child endowments. We estimate how the difference in birth weight across siblings impacts specific parental investments: breast-feeding, well-baby visits, immunizations, and preschool attendance. Our results indicate that normal-birthweight children are 5%-11% more likely to receive early childhood parental investments than their low-birth-weight siblings. Moreover, the presence of additional low-birth-weight siblings in the household increases the likelihood of investments such as well-baby visits and immunizations for normal-birth-weight children. These results suggest that parental investments in early childhood tend to reinforce endowment differences.

Why Wait?: The Effect of Marriage and Childbearing on the Wages of Men and Women.

We use data from the earlier and later cohorts of the NLSY to estimate the effect of marriage and childbearing on wages. Our estimates imply that marriage lowers female wages 2-4 percent in the year of marriage. Marriage also lowers the wage growth of men and women by about two and four percentage points, respectively. A first birth lowers female wages 2-3 percent, but has no effect on wage growth. Male wages are unaffected by childbearing. These findings suggest that early marriage and childbearing can lead to substantial decreases in lifetime earnings.