Review article: Is war necessary for economic growth?

The article reviews Vernon Ruttan's new book, Is War Necessary for Economic Growth? Military Procurement and Technological Development. (Oxford University Press, 2006). The subject matter is limited to the post-World War II United States only. Studying six general-purpose technologies emerging from war environments, the book claims that much of the U.S. post-war growth experience can be attributed to them. The reviewer finds that this is not Prof. Ruttan's best work, in part because the underlying research is too casual to support the conclusions drawn.