The Economics Of Military Spending: A Marxist Perspective

247 Pages·2019·1.315 MB·English

by  Adem Yavuz Elveren

“In this fine essay on the economic effects of military spending, Adem Elveren presents a
wide-ranging review of Marxist, liberal and neoclassical perspectives alongside an extensive
econometric investigation. This work should invigorate debate on the role of the military, a
dangerous topic that has received too little critical attention in recent years.”
James K. Galbraith, The University of Texas at Austin, U.S.A.
“This important book offers a sophisticated analysis of the determinants of military spending
and its economic impact. Adem Elveren provides a comprehensive review of the extensive
theoretical and empirical literature, with a particular emphasis on Marxist debates, before
turning to a rigorous original econometric analysis of its impact on the rate of profit.”
Simon Clarke, Emeritus Professor of Sociology,
University of Warwick, U.K.
“The book is a welcome addition to the defence economics literature. It addresses a theme
that has not received the attention it deserves in the relevant literature. It demonstrates how
Marxist analysis can be applied to contemporary issues and offer much needed and valuable
insights from a non-mainstream perspective. An essential read for students and scholars
working on defence economics.”
Christos Kollias, University of Thessaly, Greece
“This timely book provides a valuable overview of the effect of military spending on
economic growth and the degree to which this results from its impact on profits. It is
an impressive piece of work that combines modern empirical analysis with heterodox,
particularly Marxian, theory to great effect.”
J Paul Dunne, Professor of Economics, University of Cape Town, South Africa
“In breadth and depth of coverage of its subject matter, and contribution in its own right,
this volume is second to none for the student of military expenditure and its causes and
effects. The expert will be able to gain from it all, whilst the general reader will find much
from which to learn.”
Ben Fine, Emeritus Professor of Economics, School of Oriental and
African Studies, University of London, U.K.
“Adem Elveren has filled an important gap in our knowledge of military spending. Offering
a comprehensive overview of the principal attempts to explain how it affects both economic
performance and welfare, it subjects these theories to rigorous quantitative testing. Especially
novel is the integration of Galbraith’s astute analyses of the Military Industrial Complex with
Marxist work, and a long-overdue study of how military spending impacts the profit rate.”
Alan Freeman, University of Manitoba, Canada

The Economics of Military
Spending
The Economics of Military Spending offers a comprehensive analysis of the effect
of military expenditures on the economy. It is the first book to provide both a
theoretical and an empirical investigation of how military spending affects the
profit rate, a key indicator of the health of a capitalist economy.
The book presents a general discussion on the economic models of the nexus
of military spending and economic growth, as well as military Keynesianism
and the military-industrial complex. Including an account of the Marxist
crisis theories, it focuses on military spending as a counteracting factor to the
tendency of rate of profit to fall. Using a range of econometric methods and
adopting a Marxist perspective, this book provides comprehensive evidence
on the effects of military spending on the rate of profit for more than thirty
countries. The findings of the book shed light on the complex linkages between
military spending and the profit rate by considering the role of countries in the
arms trade.
Offering a Marxist perspective and an emphasis on quantitative analysis, The
Economics of Military Spending will be of great interest to students and scholars of
defence and peace economics, as well as Marxist economics.
Adem Yavuz Elveren is Associate Professor at Fitchburg State University,
U.S.A. His research focuses on gender and social security and the effect of
military spending on the economy.
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A Marxist Perspective
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For more information about this series, please visit: www.routledge.com/books/
series/SE0345
The Economics of Military
Spending
A Marxist Perspective
Adem Yavuz Elveren
First published 2019
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2019 Adem Yavuz Elveren
The right of Adem Yavuz Elveren to be identified as author of this work
has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Elveren, Adem Y. (Adem Yavuz), author.
Title: The economics of military spending : a Marxist perspective / Adem
Yavuz Elveren.
Description: Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2019. |
Series: Routledge Frontiers of Political Economy | Includes
bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2019003325 (print) | LCCN 2019006562 (ebook) |
ISBN 9780429430947 (Ebook) | ISBN 9781138365063 (hbk) |
ISBN 9780429430947 (ebk)
Subjects: LCSH: War—Economic aspects. | National security—Economic
aspects. | Marxian economics.
Classification: LCC HC79.D4 (ebook) | LCC HC79.D4 .E48 2019 (print) |
DDC 330—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019003325
ISBN: 978-1-138-36506-3 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-429-43094-7 (ebk)
Typeset in Bembo
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
To my eldest brother, Mehmet Ali

Contents
List of figures xii
List of tables xiii
Foreword xvii
Acknowledgements xx
List of abbreviations xxi
1 Introduction 1
A brief history of military expenditure 2
Strategic and economic motives for military expenditure 6
Economic effect of military expenditure 7
2 Economic models of the military expenditure-growth
nexus 13
Introduction 13
Economic models 13
The Feder-Ram model 13
Deger-Smith model 15
Augmented Solow-Swann growth model 16
Endogenous growth model 18
New macroeconomic model 20
Causality approach 21
Brief literature survey 21
3 Military Keynesianism and the military-industrial complex 27
Introduction 27
Military Keynesianism and its effect 30
John Kenneth Galbraith on the military-industrial complex 32
Military-industrial complex today 38