The Developmental Impact Of Military Budgeting And Procurement – Implications For An Arms Trade Treaty

The aim of this report is to survey literature relating to the economic implications of arms imports for developing countries, so as to draw conclusions for possible ways that developmental impacts may be taken into account in any future Arms Trade Treaty.

Two broad, but interlinked, topics are surveyed: first, in section II, the extensive theoretical and empirical literature on the direct economic effects of military expenditure (milex) – and to a lesser extent arms imports, especially in developing countries. This falls into three broad categories: the effects of on growth, on social expenditure, and (most relevant for arms imports), on debt.