ORIGINAL ARTICLE
How veteran-nonveteran wage gaps across the wage distribution have evolved over time
James Fuller,
Kelly Vosters,
Corresponding Author
James Fuller
Business Department, Carson-Newman University, Jefferson City, Tennessee, USA
Correspondence
James Fuller.
Email: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorKelly Vosters
Economics Department, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
Search for more papers by this authorJames Fuller,
Kelly Vosters,
Corresponding Author
James Fuller
Business Department, Carson-Newman University, Jefferson City, Tennessee, USA
Correspondence
James Fuller.
Email: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorKelly Vosters
Economics Department, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
Search for more papers by this authorFirst published: 14 June 2025
Abstract
We examine how veteran-nonveteran wage gaps evolved over 1979–2017. Specifically, we estimate veteran wage differentials at each decile across the unconditional wage distribution to allow for heterogeneity in the size and direction of the wage gaps. Low-earning veterans have consistently earned a wage premium, though it has declined in magnitude. High-earning veterans earned a premium early on, albeit smaller (in percentage terms) than low-earning veterans; the premium disappeared by the 1990s, becoming a wage penalty in recent decades. Decompositions of the estimated gaps reveal that lower returns to education—which worsen over time—contribute to the observed wage gap dynamics.
Open Research
DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT
The data that support the findings of this study are openly available in openICPSR at https://doi.org/10.3886/E229103V1.
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