Citation

Solomon B. Def. Peace Econ. 1996; 7(1): 21-32.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1996, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/10430719608404839

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The 1994 announcement of base closures and reductions in Canada has prompted a number of socio-economic studies to assess the impact of military installations on their host communities. For the decision maker, however, none of the studies provide a comparative appraisal of the economic impacts. Without such a mechanism, it will be difficult to prepare community assistance packages or classify military infrastructure by operational readiness.

This paper provides a first attempt at assessing bases by their socio-economic attributes. It will also provide a baseline for future comparisons. To this end ten Canadian bases are compared. Mathematical programming techniques are employed to cluster the bases into three groups for easier evaluations. The relevant issues and findings are explained and suggestions for future research areas are explored.