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The Military Rise of China

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Despite growing concerns over China’s military build-up and modernization there have been few attempts to understand the growth of China’s defense budget, its comparative size or composition. Available estimates of China’s military spending range implausibly from one quarter of the USA to near parity and, since the end of the Cold-War, no statistical agencies or defense departments have reported international comparisons of real defense spending. This paper uses price deflators and purchasing power exchange rates to infer the real size and growth of China’s defense spending. China’s defense budget is found to be 60% larger than widely used market exchange rate estimates, and equal to 59% of the USA’s defense budget. China’s military is much more labour intensive than the USA but has also had a massive increase in Equipment per person, with real military Equipment spending growing at 10 percent per annum since 2010.

Suggested Citation

  • Peter Robertson, 2023. "The Military Rise of China," Economics Discussion / Working Papers 23-12, The University of Western Australia, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:uwa:wpaper:23-12
    Note: MD5 = 1b168c52df8dfa9b0edd19b93bc18973
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    File URL: https://ecompapers.biz.uwa.edu.au/paper/PDF%20of%20Discussion%20Papers/2023/DP%2023.12_Robertson.pdf
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