In this study gender differentials in professional status attainment are analyzed. In the theoretical literature, unequal treatment of females is often rationalized by their higher probability of quitting. To test this hypothesis empirically we use data from the Austrian microcensus and find that neither the risk of childbearing nor different productive characteristics can explain the crowding of females in lower hierarchical positions. Females have to fulfill higher ability standards to be promoted; work experience is not rewarded in the same manner as it is for men.

An important component of the long‐run cost of a war is the loss of human capital suffered by school‐age children who receive less education. Austrian and German individuals who were 10 years old during the conflict, or were more directly involved through their parents, received less education than comparable individuals from nonwar countries, such as Switzerland and Sweden. We also show that these individuals experienced a sizable earnings loss some 40 years after the war, which can be attributed to the educational loss caused by the conflict. The implied consequences in terms of gross domestic product loss are calculated.