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The peace dividend : military spending cuts and economic growth

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  • Knight, Malcolm
  • Loayza, Norman
  • Villanueva, Delano

Abstract

Conventional wisdom suggests that reducing military spending may improve a country's economic growth, but empirical studies have produced ambiguous results on this point. Extending a standard growth model, the authors exploit both cross-section and time-series dimensions of available data to get consistent estimates of the growth-retarding effects of military spending. Military spending is growth-retarding because of its adverse impact on capital formation and resourceallocation. Model simulation results suggest a substantial long-term peace dividend - in the form of higher capacity output per capita - that may result from: 1) markedly lower military spending in most regions in the late 1980s; and 2) future cuts in military spending if global peace is secured.

Suggested Citation

  • Knight, Malcolm & Loayza, Norman & Villanueva, Delano, 1996. "The peace dividend : military spending cuts and economic growth," Policy Research Working Paper Series 1577, The World Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:1577
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    JEL classification:

    • O41 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - One, Two, and Multisector Growth Models
    • O47 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Empirical Studies of Economic Growth; Aggregate Productivity; Cross-Country Output Convergence

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