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The Military in Politics and Democracy: Its Impact on Government Spending for Education and Health

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  • David Shin

Abstract

Objective There is considerable debate over the determinants of government spending, but few studies have considered the impact of the military in politics. This article examines how the military in politics and democracy and the interaction between them might affect the allocation of government spending. Methods I use a variety of econometric specifications, including pooled‐OLS, panel data with random effects and fixed effects estimation, and a panel data set of 129 countries from 1984 and 2013. Further, the SGMM estimator is used to check for robustness. Results The empirical results show that the military in politics has a significant negative impact on education spending. The results also indicate that the interaction between the military in politics and democracy has a positive impact on government spending for education and health. Conclusion The results suggest that policies to reduce military involvement in politics, combined with those to increase civilian control of the military, would have a considerable impact on social development.

Suggested Citation

  • David Shin, 2020. "The Military in Politics and Democracy: Its Impact on Government Spending for Education and Health," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 101(5), pages 1810-1826, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:socsci:v:101:y:2020:i:5:p:1810-1826
    DOI: 10.1111/ssqu.12858
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Sarah Hakeem & Saghir Pervaiz Ghauri & Rizwan Raheem Ahmed & Dalia Streimikiene & Justas Streimikis, 2023. "Development of Social Welfare Policies in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Countries: Globalization and Democracy," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 167(1), pages 91-134, June.
    2. Ceyhun Elgin & Adem Y. Elveren & Gökçer Özgür & Gül Dertli, 2022. "Military spending and sustainable development," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(3), pages 1466-1490, August.

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