Bringing the Military Back in
Military Expenditures and Economic Growth 1990 to 2003
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12433756 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jeffrey Kentor (0000-0001-6735-4012, University of Utah, corresponding author), Edward Kick, Edward L Kick (North Carolina State University) |
| Year | 2008 |
| Pages | 142-172 |
| Publication date | 2008-08-26 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of World-Systems Research (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1076-156X • E-ISSN: 1076-156X |
| Publisher | University Library System, University of Pittsburgh (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.5195/jwsr.2008.342 |
| OpenAlex | W2202225147 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 28 |
| References cited | 43 |
After the peace bonus era, global military expenditures have escalated sharply despite some worldwide declines in military personnel. Theories on the economic impacts of the military institution and escalated military spending greatly differ and include arguments that they either improve domestic economic performance or crowd out growth-inducing processes. Empirical findings on this matter are inconclusive, in part due to a failure to disentangle the various dimensions of military expenditures. We further suggest that modern sociology's relative inattention to such issues has contributed to these shortcomings. We explore a new dimension of military spending that clarifies this issue military expenditures per soldier which captures the capital intensiveness of a country s military organization. Our cross-national panel regression and causal analyses of developed and less developed countries from 1990 to 2003 show that military expenditures per soldier inhibit the growth of per capita GDP, net of control variables, with the most pronounced effects in least developed countries. These expenditures inhibit national development in part by slowing the expansion of the labor force. Labor-intensive militaries may provide a pathway for upward mobility, but comparatively capital-intensive military organizations limit entry opportunities for unskilled and under- or unemployed people. Deep investments in military hardware also reduce the investment capital available for more economically productive opportunities. We also find that arms imports have a positive effect on economic growth, but only in less developed countries
Capital (architecture · Capital expenditure · Demographic economics · Development economics · Economic growth · Economics · Human capital · Investment (military · Militarization · Per capita · Political science · Politics · Population · Defense, Military, and Policy Studies · Economic Growth and Productivity · Fiscal Policy and Economic Growth · Law · Finance
India–China and Their War-making Capacities
The sociology of ecologically unequal exchange, foreign investment dependence and environmental load displacement
Modelski’s Long Cycle Revisited
The hidden cost of global economic integration
Military expenditures and health
Indirect Health Consequences of War
Militarization and Energy Consumption
Global Climate Change Negotiations, the Treadmill of Destruction, and World Society
Military expenditure and economic growth
How Robust Are Social Structural Predictors of Carbon Dioxide Emissions? A Multiverse Analysis
The temporal stability and developmental differences in the environmental impacts of militarism
The Treadmill of Destruction and the Environmental Impacts of Militaries 1
The Military Metropolis
Militarization and the Environment
The Treadmill of Destruction in Comparative Perspective
Spend on what? Insights on military spending efficiency
Intensity of food deprivation
Disease, War, Hunger, and Deprivation
Societies consuming nature
Residualization is not the answer
The 'new' military and income inequality
Militarizing the Climate Crisis
Analyzing the Military's Role in Producing Air Toxics Disparities in the United States
The Economy, Military, and Ecologically Unequal Exchange Relationships in Comparative Perspective
Guns and Butter
The Environmental Consequences of Asymmetric War
Stagnating Industrial Employment in Latin America
Military Assistance to Ukraine and Its Significance in the Russo-Ukrainian War
Longitudinal and Panel Data
Capitalism and Underdevelopment in Latin America
Military Organization and Society
Fear, greed, or garage sale? The analysis of military expenditure in East Asia
The Relation between Price and Marginal Cost in U.S. Industry
The Economics of Third World Military Expenditure
The Demand for Military Expenditure
Disarmament and Development in China
The modern world-system
Rent Seeking, Military Participation, and Economic Performance in LDCs
A Causal Analysis of Defense Spending and Economic Growth
Military Power and Food Security
Guns versus Butter
The Division of Labour in Society
Population Dynamics and Economic Development
Does Economic Growth Benefit the Masses? Growth, Dependence, and Welfare in the Third World
Foreign Capital Dependence and Development
Internal and External Factors in Effecting Third World Military Expenditures
Defense Expenditures, External Public Debt and Growth in Developing Countries
Food Security in Less Developed Countries, 1970 to 1990
Population Growth and Economic Growth
Military Spending and Income Inequality
Political Instability and Economic Growth
World military and social expenditures
Military Expenditures and Economic Growth in Less Developed Countries
Defense and Development
Military Expenditures and Socio-Economic Development in Africa
Armies in the Process of Political Modernization
Budgetary Consequences of Defense Expenditures in Pakistan
Sizing up the Peace Dividend
Impact of Arms Production on Income Distribution and Growth in the Third World
When Race Makes No Difference
Military Service during the Vietnam Era
Trajectories of Development
Becoming Modern
Consumption and Environmental Degradation
Militarization, Military Regimes, and the General Quality of Life in the Third World
Panel Models in Sociological Research
World Society and the Nation-State
Military Keynesianism in the United States, 1949-1976
Structural Blockage
| Unique citing works | 28 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,65 |
| Citation span | 2009 - 2025 (17) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 28 |