Reducing Defence Expenditure: A Public Choice Analysis and a Case Study of the UK

Keith Hartley
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Keith Hartley: University of York

Chapter 19 in Peace, Defence and Economic Analysis, 1987, pp 399-423 from Palgrave Macmillan

Abstract: Abstract Public choice theory is used to explain the behaviour of agents in the defence sector. Public choice embraces the economics of politics, bureaucracies and interest groups. Consideration is given to a government wishing to reduce the level of defence spending or to change its composition (for example, ‘mix’ of nuclear and conventional forces). How are the armed forces, the Ministry of Defence and weapon firms likely to respond to defence cuts? Identification of the groups likely to lose from disarmament and of the arguments they will use to protect themselves are essential for explaining behaviour in the military-industrial complex. The predictions of public choice theory are outlined and the framework is applied to the UK. Defence reviews are taken as examples of spending cuts and it is shown how agents in the political market have reacted and adjusted. The results of some limited empirical tests are presented. These include estimates of the effects of defence reviews on employment; whether defence spending is different from other forms of government and private expenditure; and the impact of the governing party on military budgets. It is recognised that the analytical and empirical work is still in its infancy.

Keywords: Public Choice; Armed Force; Military Expenditure; Military Spending; Defence Policy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1987
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DOI: 10.1007/978-1-349-18898-7_19

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