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U.S. Defense Spending and the Soviet Estimate

Author

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  • Ostrom, Charles W.
  • Marra, Robin F.

Abstract

There is a glaring and potentially important discontinuity surrounding discussions of U.S. defense expenditure policy making. On the one hand, a growing body of empirically-based research questions whether the U.S. reacts in any significant fashion to the military expenditures of the Soviet Union. On the other hand, defense policy makers routinely justify defense increases as a response to similar increases by the Soviet Union. The discontinuity is resolved in the context of a multistep model of the defense expenditure policy-making process that incorporates a new estimate of Soviet defense spending and mass public opinion. Once formulated, the model provides answers to the following two questions: (1) Does the U.S., insofar as defense spending is concerned, react to the military expenditures of the Soviet Union? (2) If so, what is the magnitude of the reaction? The answers indicate that not only does the U.S. react to estimated Soviet defense spending, but that the reaction is directly responsible for a very substantial portion of the post-1978 increases in U.S. military expenditures.

Suggested Citation

  • Ostrom, Charles W. & Marra, Robin F., 1986. "U.S. Defense Spending and the Soviet Estimate," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 80(3), pages 819-842, September.
  • Handle: RePEc:cup:apsrev:v:80:y:1986:i:03:p:819-842_18
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    Cited by:

    1. Charles H. Anderton, 1989. "Arms Race Modeling," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 33(2), pages 346-367, June.
    2. Rosella Cappella Zielinski & Benjamin O Fordham & Kaija E Schilde, 2017. "What goes up, must come down? The asymmetric effects of economic growth and international threat on military spending," Journal of Peace Research, Peace Research Institute Oslo, vol. 54(6), pages 791-805, November.
    3. Knobel, Alexander (Кнобель, Александр) & Chokaev, Bekhan (Чокаев, Бекхан) & Mironov, Alexey (Миронов, Алексей), 2015. "Comparative Analysis of the Effectiveness of Public Spending in the Field of National Defense and Law Enforcement [Сравнительный Анализ Эффективности Госрасходов В Сфере Национальной Обороны И Прав," Published Papers mn47, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration.
    4. Travis Sharp, 2019. "Wars, presidents, and punctuated equilibriums in US defense spending," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 52(3), pages 367-396, September.

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