Abstract
Since Adam Smith, most economists have held that a professional army is superior to a conscript army, thanks to benefitting from comparative advantage and specialization. We summarize recent literature on the benefits and costs of the military draft, with special emphasis on its dynamic effects on human capital formation. Empirical evidence refutes the claim that the economic costs of the draft would be balanced by increased democratic control or reduced likelihood of war. Rather, the political allure of conscription seems to arise from the possibility to concentrate the tax burden on a minority of voters in a way that is generally held to be unacceptable with normal taxation.
Highlights
Cold War, many democracies haveabolished the military draft and its substitutes in favor of a professional army, i.e., an all-volunteer force, and other states are debating the issue
We summarize our conclusions and argue that military conscription derives its political allure from the specific statutory incidence on young males
Unlike a professional army that is financed out of the general budget, a draft system passes an important part of the costs of the military or the social sector to young draftees rather than spreading them more evenly across all cohorts of taxpayers
Summary
With the notable exception of the military draft and its unarmed corollaries such as civil, national, or social service, today’s non-totalitarian states no longer rely on forced labor. In high-intensity wartimes of the 19th and 20th centuries, most countries, whether democratic or authoritarian, drafted their citizens into the army.. Cold War, many democracies have (re)abolished the military draft and its substitutes in favor of a professional army, i.e., an all-volunteer force, and other states are debating the issue. At the time of writing (Fall 2006), Latvia and Bulgaria still relied on military conscription, but they have decided to abolish it in 2007 or.
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