Third-World Military Expenditure and Arms Production

An examination of the patterns of military expenditures and arms production in underdeveloped countries, undertaken to determine their economic rationales and impacts. The results of the analysis provide empirical evidence as to the relative importance of economic and non-economic factors in accounting for the relative proportion of resources third-world countries allocate for defence. The analysis also indicates that their world countries should not be considered as a homogenous whole when identifying the economic factors which delineate military expenditure. A more accurate picture of the role of economic variables in influencing third world defence allocations is obtained when the countries are examined as two sub-groups: arms and non-arms producers. The economic environments surrounding arms production are fundamentally different from those in which production does not take place.