Panel cointegration analysis of military expenditure and economic growth in the selected Balkan countries

The issue of security and safety i s a fundamental condition for stable economic trends. Military expenditure can be a very powerful tool for a rapid economic growth. The paper examines the long-run relationship between military expenditure and economic growth in the selected Balkan countries, such as Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Slovenia for the period 2004-2018. The analysis implies a panel unit root test, a panel cointegration test, as well as a panel Granger causality test. The results have identified a long-run relationship between military expenditure and economic growth in the Balkan countries based on panel data analysis. Also, empirical findings have confirmed that shock experience in one of the countries' military expenditure and economic growth have effect on other countries. Finally, the results have determined unidirectional causality from military expenditure to economic growth in these countries and not vice versa.