The aim of this paper is to examine the impact of defence spending and income on the evolution of Ethiopia's external debt over the period 1970-2005. Using the bounds test approach to cointegration and Granger causality tests, we find a long run and a causal relationship between external debt,...

Economic theory predicts that military conscription is associated with static inefficiencies as well as with dynamic distortions of the accumulation of human and physical capital. Relative to an economy with an all-volunteer force, output levels and growth rates should be lower in countries that...

This paper explores the relationship between human capital and international conflict. In theory, human capital may increase the opportunity cost of military service and the economic cost of injury and loss of life in combat; it may decrease the benefits of conflict as human capital cannot be...

We re-examine the Miguel <italic>et al.</italic> (2004) study of the impact of growth on civil war, using growth in rainfall as an instrument. Miguel <italic>et al</italic>. (2004) - in our view, erroneously - include countries participating in civil wars in other states. Restricting the conflict data to states with conflict on...

We study the behavior of defense spending in Switzerland over 1975-2001. Our main interest is in determining how neutrality in international affairs (non-membership in military alliances) affects defense spending. We find that neutrality is associated with a perception of lower levels of...

John Maynard Keynes was a citizen economist, anxious to defend a capitalist system threatened by the rise of totalitarianism during the inter-war period. His criticism of the Versailles treaty in 1919 was supported by the idea of a link between economic prosperity and international peace. During...

This study uses a six-variable vector autoregressive (VAR) model and analyses the relationship between defence spending as a percentage of GNP, government budget as a percentage of GNP, total deficit as a percentage of GNP, the GNP growth rates, inflation rates, and government budget deficit as...