The Effect of Defense Spending on Subjective Well-Being: Cross-Country Evidence (Nov, 10.1007/s11482-021-10015-x, 2021)

This study examines the effect of defense spending on individual Subjective Well-Being (SWB). While other types of public spending have been examined for their associations with SWB, the role of defense spending has not been extensively studied. By utilizing various perspectives of defense policy and human well-being, this study investigates whether defense spending has a either positive or negative effect on individual SWB along with socioeconomic development. The empirical results drawn from several specifications reveal that the effect of defense expenditure on individual SWB is negative across both developed and developing countries. Based on the findings, this study suggests that an increase in defense expenditure when it has already reached its saturation point is likely to crowd out other essential policy sectors that are equally effective in reducing the likelihood of violent conflicts. © 2021, The International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies (ISQOLS) and Springer Nature B.V.