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The overlooked costs of the permanent war economy: A market process approach

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  • Thomas Duncan
  • Christopher Coyne

Abstract

How does the permanent war economy interact, and subsume, the private, non-military economy? Can the two remain at a distance while sharing resource pools? This paper argues that they cannot. Once the U.S. embarked upon the path of permanent war, starting with World War II, the result was a permanent war economy. The permanent war economy continuously draws resources into the military sector at the expense of the private economy, even in times of peace. We explore the overlooked costs of this process. The permanent war economy does not just transfer resources from the private economy, but also distorts and undermines the market process which is ultimately responsible for improvements in standards of living. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2013

Suggested Citation

  • Thomas Duncan & Christopher Coyne, 2013. "The overlooked costs of the permanent war economy: A market process approach," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 26(4), pages 413-431, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:revaec:v:26:y:2013:i:4:p:413-431
    DOI: 10.1007/s11138-012-0191-7
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Jesús Huerta de Soto, 2010. "Socialism, Economic Calculation and Entrepreneurship," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 13905.
    2. Higgs, Robert, 2006. "Depression, War, and Cold War: Studies in Political Economy," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780195182927.
    3. Christopher Coyne & Russell Sobel & John Dove, 2010. "The non-productive entrepreneurial process," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 23(4), pages 333-346, December.
    4. David R. Henderson, 2005. "The Role of Economists in Ending the Draft," Econ Journal Watch, Econ Journal Watch, vol. 2(2), pages 362-376, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Coyne,Christopher J., 2020. "Defense, Peace, and War Economics," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781108724036, January.
    2. Christopher Coyne, 2015. "Lobotomizing the defense brain," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 28(4), pages 371-396, December.
    3. William D. Tilson & Thomas K. Duncan & Daniel Farhat, 2020. "An Agent-Based Model of Ethnocentrism and the Unintended Consequences of Violence," Eastern Economic Journal, Palgrave Macmillan;Eastern Economic Association, vol. 46(3), pages 483-503, June.
    4. Christopher Coyne & Abigail Hall, 2014. "The Case Against a U.S.-Arms Monopoly," Atlantic Economic Journal, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 42(2), pages 181-190, June.
    5. Christopher J. Coyne & Abigail R. Hall, 2019. "State-Provided Defense as Noncomprehensive Planning," Journal of Private Enterprise, The Association of Private Enterprise Education, vol. 34(Spring 20), pages 75-85.
    6. Thomas L. Hogan & Daniel J. Smith, 2022. "War, money & economy: Inflation and production in the Fed and pre-Fed periods," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 35(1), pages 15-37, March.
    7. Christopher Coyne & Abigail Hall & Patrick McLaughlin & Ann Zerkle, 2014. "A hidden cost of war: the impact of mobilizing reserve troops on emergency response times," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 161(3), pages 289-303, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    War economy; National defense; Economic calculation; Interventionism; B53; H00; H56; P50;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • B53 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Current Heterodox Approaches - - - Austrian
    • H00 - Public Economics - - General - - - General
    • H56 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - National Security and War
    • P50 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Comparative Economic Systems - - - General

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