MILITARY EXPENDITURE AND MIGRATION IN EUROPE

The enlargement of the EU has implications for the national defence requirements and therefore national defence policy of European nations. In light of the freedom of movement of citizens between member states it is appropriate to consider the implications of a country's military expenditure for its macroeconomy and specifically on the flows of migration between member states. Traditionally, income differentials, employment levels and relative standards of living are all factors that influence an individual's decision to migrate. To this list we add the level of military expenditure. Migration from a panel of 16 Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs) to Germany between 1995 and 2002 is found to be the result of the level of military expenditure of the source country and the host country in conjunction with factors consistent with standard theoretical predictions.