Education and Military Spending: Countervailing Forces in Designing an Economic Policy for Peace

Anna Balestra () and Raul Caruso ()
Additional contact information
Anna Balestra: Department of Economic Policy, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, International Peace Science Center (IPSC)
Raul Caruso: Department of Economic Policy, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, International Peace Science Center (IPSC), CESPIC, Catholic University ‘Our Lady of Good Counsel’

No 1025, Working Papers from European Centre of Peace Science, Integration and Cooperation (CESPIC), Catholic University 'Our Lady of Good Counsel'

Abstract: This paper contributes to peace research by assessing the viability of an economic policy instrument for sustaining social peace. The central argument posited herein is that the ratio of public investment in education to military expenditure (henceforth referred to as Edumilex) serves as a meaningful instrument for promoting policies conducive to peace. To empirically evaluate the impact of Edumilex on peace, we construct a measure of domestic peace (henceforth referred to as Social Peace Index) structured around four core dimensions: (i) Health, (ii) Standard of living, (iii) Quality of institutions, and (iv) Spread of violence. Utilizing a panel dataset of 88 countries from 1990 to 2020, we estimate the impact of Edumilex on Social Peace Index through an IV/2SLS estimator. The findings reveal a robust and positive relationship, suggesting that Edumilex holds potential as an effective tool for economic policy geared toward peace. In addition, we document a systematic climatic dimension: hydroclimatic stress—captured by the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI)— is negatively associated with social peace, whereas CO2 emissions per capita (used as a proxy for development) correlate positively with the index, consistent with the climate–conflict literature emphasizing the role of climatic shocks and vulnerability (Harari and La Ferrara, 2018; Ide et al., 2021; von Uexkull et al., 2016). This proposition represents an innovative departure from traditional perspectives, as governments typically treat education and military spending as discrete policy areas. However, our results suggest this perspective may be limited, as both sectors critically impact peace. By linking these domains, this study clarifies the broader implications of balanced public spending, offering insights for policymakers on fostering stable, peaceful societies through integrated economic strategies.

Keywords: Peace; Education; Military Expenditures; Development (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 35pages
Date: 2026-01
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://repec.unizkm.edu.al/pea/wpaper/WP2026_01_Balestra_Caruso.pdf First version (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pea:wpaper:1025

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Working Papers from European Centre of Peace Science, Integration and Cooperation (CESPIC), Catholic University 'Our Lady of Good Counsel' Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Raul Caruso ().