Does Defense Spending Really Promote Aggregate Output in the United States?∗

Many studies have examined the relationship between defense spending and growth in real aggregate output with mixed results. Most recently, Atesoglu (2002) finds a positive relationship between defense spending and output. Capturing the error correction term as the long run adjustment parameter and including the long run adjustment in the relationship, we do not find evidence that defense spending promotes growth in real output. Instead, defense spending responds to aggregate income shocks. We re-estimated the relationship and dummied all US military conflicts with similar results concerning military spending's effect on output. Interestingly, we find trade-offs between defense and non-defense government spending during war time.