Defence Economics

Contents: Preface. 1. Basic economic systems. 2. Defence: as an economic  problem. 3. Mobilisation of resources. 4. Defence budgeting. 5. Defence production. 6. Economic constraints of nuclear defence India's nuclear policy. Selected bibliography. Index.

"Defence Economics is an emotive subject. Its protagonists are merchants of death; it leads to war and great human misery, it uses global resources which could otherwise be utilized for more humanitarian purposes. But the opposite view is equally plausible; defence expenditure preserves liberty and freedom from external aggression and internal instability; it is an objective indicator of eternal vigilance; it provides deterrence and thus indirectly saves lives and paves the way for development.

The political and strategic aspects of the subject are important and possibly paramount. While emphasizing the economic consequences the alternative motivation should not be minimized. It is well-known that the politics of economics does not play a vital role in a nation's defence decisions. But it should also be remembered that military spending is extremely expensive and the resource costs are even prohibitive. Hence the economics of defence strategy in crucial in a proper cost benefit analysis of the defence spending. "We need to know that we are spending before we can evaluate 'value for money'."" (jacket)