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Military Spending And Economic Growth In Sri Lanka: A Time Series Analysis

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  • Albert Wijeweera
  • Matthew Webb

Abstract

In this paper, we employ a VAR analysis to examine the nexus between military spending and economic growth in Sri Lanka which, due to the civil war there, has witnessed a significant increase in military spending over the last three decades while also recording healthy economic growth. The study finds that, compared with non-military spending, military spending exerts only a minimal positive impact on real GDP. Over a 10-year period, a 1% increase in non-military spending increases GDP by 1.6%. In contrast, military spending only increases GDP by 0.05%, suggesting that the economic benefits for Sri Lanka from a sustained peace may be considerable.

Suggested Citation

  • Albert Wijeweera & Matthew Webb, 2009. "Military Spending And Economic Growth In Sri Lanka: A Time Series Analysis," Defence and Peace Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(6), pages 499-508.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:defpea:v:20:y:2009:i:6:p:499-508
    DOI: 10.1080/10242690902868301
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Arunatilake, Nisha & Jayasuriya, Sisira & Kelegama, Saman, 2001. "The Economic Cost of the War in Sri Lanka," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 29(9), pages 1483-1500, September.
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    Cited by:

    1. Muhammad Shahbaz & Naceur Khraief & Mantu Kumar Mahalik & Saleheen Khan, 2018. "Are Fluctuations in Military Spending Transitory or Permanent? International Evidence," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 38(2), pages 1198-1212.
    2. Hafsa Shoukat, 2022. "Economic Growth Effects of Military Expenditure in the Absence and Presence of Armed Conflicts: The Case of Pakistan and India," Economics Discussion Papers em-dp2022-13, Department of Economics, University of Reading.
    3. Deng-Shan Wang & Yan Wang & Yifang Liu & Heng-fu Zou, 2009. "Optimal Military Spending, Trade and Stochastic Economic Growth," CEMA Working Papers 373, China Economics and Management Academy, Central University of Finance and Economics.
    4. Syed Ali Raza & Muhammad Shahbaz & Sudharshan Reddy Paramati, 2017. "Dynamics of Military Expenditure and Income Inequality in Pakistan," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 131(3), pages 1035-1055, April.
    5. Shahbaz, Muhammad & Leitão, Nuno Carlos & Uddin, Gazi Salah & Arouri, Mohamed & Teulon, Frédéric, 2013. "Should Portuguese economy invest in defense spending? A revisit," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 805-815.
    6. Ganegodage, K. Renuka & Rambaldi, Alicia N., 2014. "Economic consequences of war: Evidence from Sri Lanka," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 42-53.
    7. Rafał Woźniak & Jacek Lewkowicz, 2023. "Can We Have More Butter and Guns Simultaneously? An Endogeneity Perspective," Gospodarka Narodowa. The Polish Journal of Economics, Warsaw School of Economics, issue 2, pages 28-46.
    8. Philip Arestis & Hüseyin Şen & Ayşe Kaya, 2021. "On the linkage between government expenditure and output: empirics of the Keynesian view versus Wagner’s law," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 54(2), pages 265-303, May.
    9. Chiwei Su & Yingying Xu & Hsu Ling Chang & Oana-Ramona Lobont & Zhixin Liu, 2020. "Dynamic Causalities between Defense Expenditure and Economic Growth in China: Evidence from Rolling Granger Causality Test," Defence and Peace Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(5), pages 565-582, July.
    10. Albert Wijeweera & Matthew J. Webb, 2012. "Using the Feder-Ram and Military Keynesian Models to Examine the Link Between Defence Spending and Economic Growth in Sri Lanka," Defence and Peace Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(3), pages 303-311, May.
    11. Guo Ping & Alotaish Mohammed Saud M., 2017. "Revisiting the Causal Nexus between Defense Expenditure and Economic Growth: Time Series Analysis for Saudi Arabia," Asian Journal of Economic Modelling, Asian Economic and Social Society, vol. 5(1), pages 35-43, March.
    12. Muhammad Shahbaz & Talat Afza & Muhammad Shahbaz Shabbir, 2013. "Does Defence Spending Impede Economic Growth? Cointegration And Causality Analysis For Pakistan," Defence and Peace Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(2), pages 105-120, April.
    13. Duygu Yolcu Karadam & Jülide Yildirim & Nadir Öcal, 2017. "Military expenditure and economic growth in Middle Eastern countries and Turkey: a non-linear panel data approach," Defence and Peace Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(6), pages 719-730, November.
    14. Sharma, Sapana & Karol, Sanju, 2022. "India’s Defence Expenditure and Economic Growth," Economia Internazionale / International Economics, Camera di Commercio Industria Artigianato Agricoltura di Genova, vol. 75(1), pages 51-74.
    15. Manamperi, Nimantha, 2016. "Does military expenditure hinder economic growth? Evidence from Greece and Turkey," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 38(6), pages 1171-1193.
    16. Tiwari, Aviral & Shahbaz, Muhammad, 2011. "Does Defence Spending Stimulate Economic Growth in India?," MPRA Paper 30880, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 18 Apr 2011.
    17. çenberci, engin, 2020. "The Nexus Between Defense Spending and Growth: Empirical Analysis of First Euro Users," MPRA Paper 111273, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    18. Seelanatha, Lalith & Ihalanayake, Ranjith, 2019. "War and peace times, interest margin and commercial bank operations: A case of the Sri Lankan banking sector," International Journal of Development and Conflict, Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, vol. 9(2), pages 122-141.
    19. Ulrich KEMBENG, 2022. "Military Expenditure and Economic Growth in Chad: An Application of The ARDL Method," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 6(9), pages 471-475, September.
    20. Duygu Yolcu Karadam & Nadir Öcal & Jülide Yildirim, 2023. "Distinct Asymmetric Effects of Military Spending on Economic Growth for Different Income Groups of Countries," Defence and Peace Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 34(4), pages 477-494, May.
    21. repec:ipg:wpaper:2014-380 is not listed on IDEAS
    22. Shahbaz, Muhammad & Khraief, Naceur & Kumar Mahalik, Mantu & Khan, Saleheen, 2018. "Military Spending Response to Defense Shocks? International Evidence," MPRA Paper 87362, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 12 Jun 2018.
    23. repec:ipg:wpaper:2014-513 is not listed on IDEAS
    24. Raza, Syed Ali & Shahbaz, Muhammad, 2014. "To Battle Income Inequality, Focus on Military Expenditures: Lesson from Pakistan," MPRA Paper 57773, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    25. Sriananthakumar, Sivagowry & Narayan, Seema, 2015. "Are prolonged conflict and tension deterrents for stock market integration? The case of Sri Lanka," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 504-520.

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