Journal of Defense Management
Open Access

Abstract

When Germany Ended Conscription, and an Era: Effects on Composition and Quality of its Military

Marigee Bacolod1*,Stefan Koenigsmark

On July 1, 2011 Germany formally suspended the draft that had been in place since 1957. This study examines data from the German Micro Census and the German General Social Surveys to estimate the causal effects of the switch to an All-Volunteer Force (AVF) on the quantity and quality of military recruits, as well as perceived demand for defense. Using a difference-indifferences empirical strategy, the paper finds that while the perceived importance of national defense dropped, the average quality of German military recruits increased with the switch to an AVF. Implications for policy are then considered.