State-Provided Defense as Non-Comprehensive Planning

16 Pages Posted: 14 Aug 2018 Last revised: 17 Sep 2018

See all articles by Christopher J. Coyne

Christopher J. Coyne

George Mason University - Department of Economics

Abigail R Hall

University of Tampa

Date Written: July 30, 2018

Abstract

State-provided defense is a form of non-comprehensive government planning subject to two inherent problems. The first is the “knowledge problem” of how to allocate scarce resources to their highest-valued uses. The second is the “power problem” due to the discretionary power granted to those in the managerial-administrative state to plan military-related policies and resource allocations. We discuss these dual problems in the context of the U.S. defense sector.

Keywords: knowledge problem, national defense, power problem

JEL Classification: H11, H41, H56, P11

Suggested Citation

Coyne, Christopher J. and Hall, Abigail R, State-Provided Defense as Non-Comprehensive Planning (July 30, 2018). GMU Working Paper in Economics No. 18-27, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3223019 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3223019

Christopher J. Coyne (Contact Author)

George Mason University - Department of Economics ( email )

4400 University Drive
Fairfax, VA 22030
United States

HOME PAGE: http://www.ccoyne.com/

Abigail R Hall

University of Tampa ( email )

401 W Kennedy Blvd Box O
Tampa, FL 33606

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