RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Military Service and Human Capital Accumulation: Evidence from Colonial Punjab JF Journal of Human Resources JO J Hum Resour FD University of Wisconsin Press SP 1003 OP 1035 DO 10.3368/jhr.51.4.1013-5977R1 VO 51 IS 4 A1 Oliver Vanden Eynde YR 2016 UL http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/51/4/1003.abstract AB This paper estimates the impact of military recruitment during World War I on human capital accumulation in colonial Punjab. The empirical strategy exploits the exogenous increase in recruitment by the Indian Army during the war. Higher military recruitment is found to be associated with increased literacy at the district-religion level. The observed improvement in the human capital stock appears to be driven by the informal acquisition of literacy skills by serving soldiers.