Life-Cycle Health Effects of Compulsory Military Service in the GDR
We examine the long-term health effects of peacetime conscription in the German Democratic Republic using a regression-discontinuity design that exploits the introduction of conscription in 1962 and resulting variation in conscription between birth cohorts. Conscription eligibility increases musculoskeletal hospitalizations later in life, consistent with descriptive evidence on overuse injuries during service, and raises sick leave during draft-eligible ages and after the German reunification. These effects are not explained by education or wages but partly by occupational sorting into physically demanding jobs. Our findings highlight lasting health burdens of military service and long-term consequences of physical strain and injury.