Tags: AEROSPACE INDUSTRY, FOLLOW-ON IMPERATIVE, HISTORICAL ANALYSIS, MILITARY POLICY, POLITICAL ECONOMY, PROCESS TRACING, QUALITATIVE METHODS, WEAPONS PROCUREMENT
Author: James R. Kurth
Publisher/Publication: American Economic Review
Volume/Issue: 62 (2)
DOI/ISBN: 10.2307/1821556
Abstract: In this paper the author examines the major cases of American weapons procurement. The author analyzes why the United States buys certain weapons, such as MIRV, despite expert testimony about the grave dangers that it will bring. The paper argues that there are too many competing explanations for weapons procurement, including strategic, bureaucratic, democratic, and economic explanations. The author suggests that the problem with such questions about weapons procurement is not that there are no answers but that there are too many answers.