MILOEK

Militärökonomische Forschung und Lehre
Research and Courses in Economics of Defense

Economics and the Economics of Defense I

Labeling the economics of defense as the interface connecting military decisions / actions and economics looks like a pretty good stepping stone to gain a better understanding of this discipline.

Economics as a science emerged during the 18th century because moral philosophers like Adam Smith looked for an answer to the following question: Economic resources like food are scarce. Why then is it morally legitimate for person A to eat a slice of a pizza while other persons are barred from access and perhaps even have to remain hungry?  

To assess such coordination issues, economics primarily relies on the efficiency-criterion: A person’s specific act not only contributes to the (approximate) fulfillment of a rational life-time goal (efficacy). But the corresponding act is also realized with a minimum of resource input.