Declining Wealth and Work Among Male Veterans in the Health and Retirement Study

52 Pages Posted: 14 Nov 2015

See all articles by Alan L. Gustman

Alan L. Gustman

Dartmouth College - Department of Economics; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Thomas L. Steinmeier

Texas Tech University - Department of Economics and Geography

Nahid Tabatabai

Dartmouth College - Department of Economics

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Date Written: September 1, 2015

Abstract

The composition, wealth, and employment of male veterans and nonveterans are analyzed for four cohorts from the Health and Retirement Study, ages 51 to 56 in 1992, 1998, 2004, and 2010. Half of the two oldest cohorts served in the military. Only 16 percent of the youngest cohort, the only cohort subject to the all-volunteer military, served. One-fifth to one-third of the members of each cohort who served saw combat, mainly in Vietnam and in the Gulf War. Among those 51 to 56 in 1992, veterans were better educated, healthier, wealthier, and more likely to be working than nonveterans. By 2010, 51- to 56-year-old veterans had lost their educational advantage, were less healthy, less wealthy, and less likely to be working than nonveterans. After standardizing in multiple regressions for the influence of major observable characteristics, for the original 1992 HRS cohort, the wealth of veterans is no longer higher than the wealth of nonveterans. In contrast, the wealth of veterans from the youngest cohort, those 51 to 56 in 2010, remains about 10 to 13 percent below the wealth of nonveterans from that cohort. There also is a decline from older to younger cohorts of veterans compared to nonveterans in the probability of being not retired, of working more than 35 hours per week, and in the likelihood of holding a job for more than 10 years. Comparisons are made within the group of veterans by years of service, officer rank and other covariates.

Keywords: Veterans, declining wealth, retirement, HRS

Suggested Citation

Gustman, Alan L. and Steinmeier, Thomas L. and Tabatabai, Nahid, Declining Wealth and Work Among Male Veterans in the Health and Retirement Study (September 1, 2015). Michigan Retirement Research Center Research Paper No. 2015-323, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2689613 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2689613

Alan L. Gustman (Contact Author)

Dartmouth College - Department of Economics ( email )

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National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

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Thomas L. Steinmeier

Texas Tech University - Department of Economics and Geography ( email )

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United States
806-742-2201 (Phone)

Nahid Tabatabai

Dartmouth College - Department of Economics ( email )

Hanover, NH 03755
United States

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