Work

Military Expenditures and Inequality: Empirical Evidence From Global Data

Year: 2007

Type: article

Abstract: A substantial body of literature has uncovered a robust relationship between institutions including unionization and political democracy and economic inequality. This paper examines the effect of military spending on inequality, controlling for the size of the armed forces, GDP growth, per capita income, and other possible determinants. Using a panel regression with country level observations from 1987–1997, we obtained consistent estimates that there is a positive effect of military expenditure on pay inequality. This relationship is robust across variable definitions and model specifications. Given the close relationship between pay and income, this result suggests that a country’s increases in military spending could increase income inequality.

Source: Defence and Peace Economics

DOI: 10.1080/10242690701331501

Author: Hamid E. Ali

Institution: United States Government Accountability Office

Language: English

Topic: Defense, Military, and Policy Studies

Subfield: Economics and Econometrics

Field: Economics, Econometrics and Finance

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Peace, justice, and strong institutions, Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: green

Funders: Ford Foundation, University of California, Santa Cruz, European University Institute