How Do Earnings Change When Reservists Are Activated? A Reconciliation of Estimates Derived from Survey and Administrative Data

Among the many hardships of military activation is the possibility of losing earnings, and though some research points to such a loss, other research suggests that reservists in fact earn substantially more when they are activated. The authors examine earnings reports from the 2004 and 2005 Status of Forces Survey of Reserve Component Members (SOFS-R) and those from administrative data—the Social Security Administration and military pay records.