U.S. war costs
Subtitle: two parts temporary, one part permanent
By: Ryan D. Edwards
Contributors: National Bureau of Economic Research
Series: NBER working paper series -- working paper 16108; Working paper series (National Bureau of Economic Research : Online) -- working paper no. 16108.
Publisher: National Bureau of Economic Research
Published: 2010
Place of publication: Cambridge, MA
Language: eng
Format: [electronic resource] :
Description: "Military spending, fatalities, and the destruction of capital, all of which are immediately felt and are often large, are the most overt costs of war.  They are also relatively short-lived.  The costs of war borne by combatants and their caretakers, which includes families, communities, and the modern welfare state, tend instead to be lifelong.  In this paper I show that a significant component of the public costs associated with U.S.  wars are long-lived.  One third to one half of the total present value of historical war costs have been absorbed by benefits distributed over the remaining life spans of veterans and their dependents.  The half-life of these benefits has averaged more than 30 years following the end of hostilities.  Estimates of the value of injuries and deaths, while uncertain, suggest that the private burden of war borne by survivors, namely the uncompensated costs of service-related injuries, are also large and long-lived"--National Bureau of Economic Research web site.
Notes: Title from PDF file as viewed on 7/13/2010.

Includes bibliographical references.

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