The Effects of Combat Deployments on Veterans’ Outcomes
研究了2001至2021年间战斗部署对退伍军人福祉的因果影响，发现部署增加了伤残和补偿，但对自杀、绝望死亡、财务健康等影响有限，无法解释伤残支付和非战斗死亡激增。
As millions of soldiers deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan between 2001 and 2021, Veteran Affairs Disability Compensation payments quadrupled and the veteran suicide rate rose rapidly. We estimate the causal contribution of combat deployments to declining veteran well-being. Deployments increase injuries, combat deaths, and disability compensation, but we find limited effects on suicide, deaths of despair, financial health, incarceration, or education. Our estimates suggest that deployment cannot explain either the recent rise in disability payments, which is more likely driven by policy changes, or the surge in noncombat deaths, which is better explained by shifts in observable characteristics of soldiers.