1. THE DISTRIBUTION OF HOSTILE CASUALTIES ON DRAFT-ELIGIBLE MALES WITH DIFFERING SOCIOECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS.
- Author
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Leigh, Duane E. and Berney, Robert E.
- Subjects
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TAXATION , *ARMED Forces , *HOSTILITY , *INCOME , *UNEMPLOYMENT , *ESTIMATION theory - Abstract
This article examines the effect of hostile casualties in Southeast Asia on the incidence of the tax-in-kind imposed by the military draft. The hypothesis advanced was that hostile casualties were disproportionately borne by draft-eligible men with relatively low civilian income-earning opportunities. The available hostile casualty data were not sufficient to allow the authors to calculate casualty frequencies for education-income groups. Therefore they undertook the more limited task of attempting to demonstrate a relationship between hostile casualties and particular proxy variables for income-earning capacity. For this purpose the authors utilized state-by-state data. While these data allow only preliminary conclusions, the cross-sectional regression estimates indicated a significant relationship between hostile casualties and the rate of mental disqualification on the pre-induction physical and state unemployment rates. The rate of mental disqualification is intended primarily to measure the educational attainment of men aged 18 to 26, while the state unemployment rate served as a proxy for civilian job opportunities. The hypothesized relationship was particularly significant in the equations for the U.S. Army.
- Published
- 1971