THE EFFECT OF DEFENCE R&D ON MILITARY EQUIPMENT QUALITY

Andrew Middleton, Steven Bowns, Keith Hartley and James Reid

Defence and Peace Economics, 2006, vol. 17, issue 2, 117-139

Abstract: Studies into the output of R&D generally take a qualitative view of case histories and do not provide a quantitative template for the analysis of 'cause and effect' suited to investment management. This study describes the development of a quantitative model of the relationship between defence R&D and equipment capability. Using open source data, the military equipment quality of 10 nations has been evaluated from 1971 to 2005 and time-dependent correlation with R&D investment back to 1951 analysed. We find that the nations studied 'got what they paid for', with their R&D expenditure positively correlated with equipment capability. The observed variability in equipment quality was most highly correlated with R&D spend 10-25 years earlier.

Keywords: Defence R&D; Military equipment quality (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2006
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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DOI: 10.1080/10242690600636869

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