DP18343 Scars of War: the Legacy of WWI Deaths on Civic Capital and Combat Motivation
What drives soldiers to risk their life in combat? Using individual-level data from over 4 million British war records, we show that the legacy of WWI deeply affected local communities and the behaviour of the next generation of soldiers. Servicemen from localities that suffered heavier losses in WWI were considerably more likely to die or to win gallantry awards for valour in WW2. To rationalise these findings, we show that the mortality shock increased communities' civic capital in the inter-war period: Great War deaths spur the creation of new charities, veterans' associations, and historically significant memorials as well as promoting charitable donations and voter participation. Our results highlight the importance of the memory of past conflicts in fostering the creation of socially-oriented activities that, in turn, can shape the behaviour of soldiers in future wars.
