The impact of strategy and measurement on models of French military expenditure

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Abstract
There is now a considerable literature devoted to estimating models which explain military expenditure. In this paper, we present some estimates for France, that are used to examine two important general issues. The first issue is that quite different empirical results can be obtained depending on which measure of military expenditure is used in the analysis. Here a consistent dynamic system is used to provide a framework to analyse the differences between the relationships explaining four measures of military :expenditure. The second issue is that we would expect the relationships to change with major changes in strategy. In the case of France, there are three obvious changes in strategic posture: withdrawal from the colonies after a series of expensive colonial wars; the decision to acquire an independent nuclear capability; and de Gaulle's withdrawal from NATO's integrated military command in 1966. We examine the impact of each on the different measures.

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