Daniel Landau

Is one of the ‘peace dividends’ negative? Military expenditure and economic growth in the wealthy OECD countries

Abstract This paper studies the effect of military spending-milex-on economic growth in the wealthy OECD countries. The hypothesis is that increased milex will have a non-linear effect with higher milex associated with faster growth at low levels and slower growth at higher levels. The regression results are consistent with the hypothesis.

The impact of military expenditures on economic growth in the less developed countries

This paper presents the results of empirical research on the economic impact of military expenditure — milex — on the less developed countries. The hypothesis is that the impact on growth is a combination of three effects: (1) increased security — positive impact; (2) diversion of resources from productive investment — negative impact; and (3) pressure for more efficient government policies in response to the external threat — positive impact. The combination of these effects would produce a non‐linear relationship with the growth rate at first increasing as milex increased and then decreasing. For the full sample of 71 countries, we found the predicted relationship, however, it is not robust to changes in the sample. The robust conclusion is that there was no evidence of a negative impact of military spending on economic growth.

The nature of Japan's comparative advantage, 1965-80

Abstract This paper compares the dynamic factor proportions theory to the product cycle theory in explaining Japans comparative advantage for the 1965-80 period. Three tests were used: (1) domestic Japanese relative prices of more and less competitive export commodities; (2) trends in capital-labour ratios, skill ratios, RD (3) price elasticities over time of Japans exports. The results suggest that: (1) the product cycle must be considered along with the factor proportions theory for the pre-oil shock period; (2) the product cycle theory is superior for the post-oil shock period.

The growth of government: A protection explanation

ConclusionOur approach to the explanation of the growth of government achieves three things: it ties together under the protection heading most government expenditure programs; it explains the timing of the growth of government; and it resolves the paradox of democratic government not serving the majority interest.

Do Country Characteristics Matter for Economic Growth among the Developed Countries

Do long-run growth rates among the developed countries (DCs) depend on country characteristics, or is there on overall long-run growth pattern that dominates the effects of country differences? This paper empirically tests this question. The test involves regressing the pooled sample of their growth rates on dummy variables for the various countries. The test uses Maddison [1991] that provides data for annual estimates for real per capita product for 16 DCs from 1870–1989. Regressors were added for relative per capita product, the time trends of growth, and unusual time periods. The results suggest that country characteristics explain very little of the differences in growth rates. General factors, the tendency of lower per capita developed countries to grow faster, and the time patterns of growth among the DCs explain much more of the differences in growth rates.