Umeå University's logo

umu.sePublications
Change search
CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
  • vancouver
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
  • fi-FI
  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
  • html
  • text
  • asciidoc
  • rtf
Are economic upturns bad for military recruitment?: A study on Swedish regional data 2011–2015
Umeå University, Faculty of Social Sciences, Umeå School of Business and Economics (USBE), Economics. Totalförsvarets forskningsinstitut, Avdelningen för försvarsanalys.
2019 (English)In: Defence and Peace Economics, ISSN 1024-2694, E-ISSN 1476-8267, Vol. 30, no 7, p. 813-829Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

This paper represents the first effort to explore the relationship between civilian labour market conditions and the supply of labour to the military in the all-volunteer environment that Sweden entered after the abolishment of the peacetime draft in 2010. The paper investigates the effect of civilian unemployment on the rate of applications from individuals aged 18–25 to initiate basic military training, using panel data on Swedish counties for the period 2011–2015. A linear fixed-effects model is estimated to investigate the relationship, while controlling for a range of socio-demographic covariates, unobserved heterogeneity on the regional level, as well as aggregate trends on the national level. The results of the panel-data analysis indicate that the unemployment rate has a positive and statistically significant effect on the application rate. These results are robust to non-linear form specifications, as well as allowing the civilian unemployment rate to be endogenous. As such, the results suggest that the civilian labour market environment in Sweden can give rise to non-trivial fluctuations in the supply of applications to initiate basic military training within the Swedish Armed Forces.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Routledge, 2019. Vol. 30, no 7, p. 813-829
Keywords [en]
Military labour supply, Military labour market, Recruitment, Fixed effects model, Conscription
National Category
Economics
Research subject
Economics
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-156476DOI: 10.1080/10242694.2018.1522572ISI: 000496043400004Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85053770733OAI: oai:DiVA.org:umu-156476DiVA, id: diva2:1289365
Available from: 2019-02-18 Created: 2019-02-18 Last updated: 2023-06-21Bibliographically approved
In thesis
1. Essays on military labour supply in the era of voluntary recruitment
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Essays on military labour supply in the era of voluntary recruitment
2020 (English)Licentiate thesis, comprehensive summary (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

This thesis consists of an introductory part and two self-contained chapters related to the supply of volunteers to the Swedish Armed Forces.

Chapter [I] represents the first effort to explore the relationship between civilian labour market conditions and the supply of labour to the military in the all-volunteer environment that Sweden entered after the abolishment of the peacetime draft in 2010. The effect of civilian unemployment on the rate of applications from individuals aged 18 to 25 to initiate basic military training is investigated using panel data on Swedish counties for the years 2011 through 2015. A linear fixed-effects model is estimated to investigate the relationship, while controlling for a range of socio-demographic covariates and unobserved heterogeneity on the regional level, as well as aggregate trends on the national level. The results indicate a positive and statistically significant relationship between the unemployment rate and the application rate. The results are robust to non-linear form specifications, as well as allowing the civilian unemployment rate to be endogenous. As such, the results suggest that the civilian labour market environment in Sweden can give rise to non-trivial fluctuations in the supply of applications to initiate basic military training within the Swedish Armed Forces.

Chapter [II] studies how local labour market conditions influence the quality composition of those who volunteer for military service in Sweden. A fixed-effects regression model is estimated on a panel data set containing IQ scores for those who applied for military basic training across Swedish municipalities during the period 2010 to 2016. The main finding is that low civilian employment rates at the local level tend to increase the mean IQ score of those who volunteer for military service, whereas the opposite is true if employment rates in the civilian labour market move in a more favourable direction. As such, the results suggest that the negative impact of a strong civilian economy on recruitment volumes is reinforced by a deterioration in recruit quality.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Umeå: Umeå universitet, 2020. p. 6
Series
Umeå economic studies, ISSN 0348-1018 ; 965
Keywords
conscription, enlistment test, fixed effects model, military labour market, military labour supply, military recruitment, recruitment, Roy model, self-selection
National Category
Economics
Research subject
Economics
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-167166 (URN)9789178551545 (ISBN)
Presentation
2020-01-31, S 213h, Samhällsvetarhuset, Umeå, 11:00 (English)
Opponent
Supervisors
Available from: 2020-01-15 Created: 2020-01-10 Last updated: 2020-08-17Bibliographically approved
2. Empirical essays on military service and the labour market
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Empirical essays on military service and the labour market
2023 (English)Doctoral thesis, comprehensive summary (Other academic)
Alternative title[sv]
Empiriska studier av militärtjänstgöring och arbetsmarknaden
Abstract [en]

This thesis consists of an introductory part and four self-contained papers that study empirical questions related to military service and the labour market.

Paper [I] studies the relationship between civilian labour market conditions and the number of people who volunteer for military service in Sweden. I use panel data on Swedish counties for the years 2011 through 2015 and study the effect of civilian unemployment on the rate of applications from individuals aged 18 to 25 to initiate basic military training. The results indicate a positive and statistically significant relationship between the unemployment rate and the application rate, and suggest that the civilian labour market environment can give rise to non-trivial fluctuations in the supply of volunteers to the Swedish military.

Paper [II] studies how local labour market conditions influence the quality composition of those who volunteer for military service in Sweden. I estimate a fixed-effects regression model on a panel data set containing cognitive ability test scores for those who applied for military basic training across Swedish municipalities during the period 2010 to 2016. The main finding is that if civilian employment rates at the local level go up, the average test score of those who volunteer for military service goes down. The results suggest that, due to the way in which different types of individuals select themselves into the military, the negative impact of a strong civilian economy on recruitment volumes is reinforced by a deterioration in recruit quality.

Paper [III] studies the effect of peacekeeping on post-deployment earnings for military veterans. Using Swedish administrative data, we follow a sample of more than 11,000 veterans who were deployed for the first time during the period 1993-2010 for up to nine years after returning home. To deal with selection bias, we use difference-in-differences propensity score matching based on a rich set of covariates, including measures of individual ability, health and pre-deployment labour market attachment. We find that, overall, veterans’ post-deployment earnings are largely unaffected by their service. Even though Swedish veterans in the studied period tend to outperform their birth-cohort peers who did not serve, we show that this advantage in earnings disappears once we adjust for non-random selection into service. 

Paper [IV] studies the relationship between military deployment to Bosnia in the 1990s and adverse outcomes on the labour market. The analysis is based on longitudinal administrative data for a sample of 2275 young Swedish veterans who served as peacekeepers in Bosnia at some point during the years 1993–1999. I follow these veterans for up to 20 years after deployment. Using propensity score matching based on a rich set of covariates, I estimate the effects of deployment on three broad measures of labour market marginalisation: long-term unemployment, work disability, and social-welfare assistance. I find no indication of long-term labour market marginalisation of the veterans. Even though the veterans experienced an increase in the risk of unemployment in the years immediately following return from service, in the long run their attachment to the labour market is not affected negatively by their service.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Umeå: Umeå University, 2023. p. 17
Series
Umeå economic studies, ISSN 0348-1018 ; 1012
Keywords
Military recruitment, military labour market, military veterans, peacekeeping, earnings, labour market marginalisation
National Category
Economics
Research subject
Economics
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-210379 (URN)978-91-8070-079-5 (ISBN)978-91-8070-080-1 (ISBN)
Public defence
2023-09-08, UB333, Samhällsvetarhuset, Umeå universitet, Umeå, 10:00 (English)
Opponent
Supervisors
Note

Doktorandprojektet har finansierats gemensamt av Handelshögskolan vid Umeå universitet, Företagsforskarskolan vid Umeå universitet, Försvarsmaktens veterancentrum, och Totalförsvarets forskningsinstitut. 

Available from: 2023-08-18 Created: 2023-06-21 Last updated: 2023-06-21Bibliographically approved

Open Access in DiVA

No full text in DiVA

Other links

Publisher's full textScopus

Authority records

Bäckström, Peter

Search in DiVA

By author/editor
Bäckström, Peter
By organisation
Economics
In the same journal
Defence and Peace Economics
Economics

Search outside of DiVA

GoogleGoogle Scholar

doi
urn-nbn

Altmetric score

doi
urn-nbn
Total: 721 hits
CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
  • vancouver
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
  • fi-FI
  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
  • html
  • text
  • asciidoc
  • rtf