Military Economics

RON SMITH is Professor of Applied Economics at Birkbeck, UK, where he teaches Econometrics and Statistics. He has written extensively on applied econometrics and defence economics and is on the editorial boards of Defence and Peace Economics and the Journal of Peace Research and is an Associate Fellow of the Royal United Services Institute.

Military power needs to be financed and economic development is often shaped by military conflict, thus the interaction of military and economy, power and money is central to the modern world. This book provides an accessible introduction to the economics of the use of organized force, with a wide range of historical and current examples.

Introduction Economics The Military Values Facts Theories Power and Money Producing Security Militarism Economic Concepts Uncertainty Economic-Security Interactions Security: Are we Safe? Individual Security National Security Global Security War Oil Arms Races and Arms Control Military Spending: How Much is Enough? Measures of Military Expenditure Motives for Arming Economic Functions of US Military Spending Hard Choices: UK and France An Arms Race: India and Pakistan Military Prices Military Balance Sheets Force Acquisition I, Demand: The Biggest Bang for a Buck? Labour Weapons Procurement Technology Force Acquisition II, Supply: The Merchants of Death? The Arms Industry Evolution of the Arms Trade Regulation Military Capability: How to Win? Force Employment Morale Logistics Peacekeeping Economic Choices: Swords or Plowshares? Budget Constraints Economic Effects Technological Spin-off Economic Warfare Understanding Military Economics Acknowledgements, Abbreviations, References, Index