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.