The Economics of Defense in the Nuclear Age

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This is the first study of the economics of defense to stress the implications of the continuing revolution in defense technology and to consider such pre-attack problems of choice as that of shaping strategic forces-in-being. It represents a major departure from the pattern established by previous books on this subject in which emphasis has been put on the problems of mobilization.

The alternatives considered here range all the way from broad strategies and weapon systems to ways of handling spare parts. The authors emphasize that certain precautions, such as additional protection for our retaliatory forces, are not only efficient measures to take but are also extremely urgent.

In conclusion the authors demonstrate that economic analysis, whether just straight thinking about alternative courses of action or the setting up of systematic quantitative comparisons, can contribute essentially to the selection of preferred policies and actions.