Complete Solution to Richardson's Arms Race Equations

David L. Wagner, Ronald T. Perkins and Rein Taagepera
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Rein Taagepera: School of Social Sciences University of California, Irvine

Conflict Management and Peace Science, 1975, vol. 1, issue 2, 159-172

Abstract: Richardson's arms race equations, dx/dt=ky - ax + g , and dy/dt=Ix - by + h , and their more complex variants have been mainly used empirically for data fitting the simplifications a = b and k = I. Furthermore, only the additive form, d(x+y)/dt=(k-a) (x+y)+(g+h) , is usually tested while the complementary expression in (x-y) is ignored. This paper gives the complete solution of the above equations, in an easily testable form. Richardson's 1907–1914 data are found to agree with the arms race model but they also could be explained by a simpler self-stimulation model.

Date: 1975
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:compsc:v:1:y:1975:i:2:p:159-172

DOI: 10.1177/073889427500100206

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