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by Lars Naunheim (Author)
Nations around the globe dedicate a substantial amount of their economic power to national security. Economically, national security is a public good that is mainly provided by a nation's Armed Forces. A common problem with public goods is the difficulty to measure how efficiently a government is providing them. While economists have attempted to evaluate the efficiency of public goods in many areas, national security and the efficiency of Armed Forces in particular have never been the focus. This book covers an economic analysis that expands the field of economic studies in that regard. In times of scarce public funding and budget pressure, efficient operations become paramount. Efficiency can further be seen as an indication of an adversary's strength - in times of conflict, efficiently operated Armed Forces pose a bigger threat as they are more capable of quickly converting provided resources into forceful combat power. This economic analysis uses a non-parametric statistical tool to determine the efficiency stage of a nation's Armed Forces throughout a multi-year timeframe and with a global dataset. The results of six focus nations, China, Germany, Israel, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, are interpreted in more detail. Furthermore, a test is done to determine if certain factors have an influence on the efficiency of Armed Forces. The factors chosen for these analyses are technological advancements as well as the influence of governmental processes. It is further tested whether the Draft model or the All-Volunteer Military model is the more viable option for a nation under efficiency considerations.
