Citation

MacDonald P. Def. Peace Econ. 2006; 17(2): 141-153.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2006, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/10242690500512236

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This paper estimates the elasticity of substitution (σ) between military personnel and other military inputs, building on a study by Ridge and Smith published in 1991. The major difference is that this paper uses data on the average military wage, which Ridge and Smith did not, allowing a much more flexible specification of both the demand and supply equations. Accounting for a structural break at the end of the Cold War, it finds σ likely to be some small positive number, much lower than previous estimates suggest.