This study examines the response among young adults to the closure of a large local employer. By using military base closures in Sweden, I find that men experience lower earnings and enroll in tertiary education. This is driven by low-ability men who choose shortterm enrollment at nearby...

Die Bundesrepublik steht vor der historischen Aufgabe, inmitten sich überlagernder Krisen und nach langem Modernisierungsstau das zu tun, was nötig ist, um auch in den kommenden Jahren Produktivität, Daseinsvorsorge und Sicherheit zu gewährleisten. Dies erfordert auch einen zielgerichteten...

Defense spending above the NATO target of 2 percent of gross domestic product would be necessary for Europe to be able to defend itself without the protective umbrella of the United States. This is the conclusion of the new EconPol Policy Brief. European countries would have to significantly...

"New Defense," akin to "NewSpace," challenges the traditional defense industry with innovative, agile, software-first companies. Lack of European equivalent to US tech giants raises concerns about strategic credibility. European technology sector's military assistance to Ukraine remains limited...

In recent weeks, Japan’s government under Prime Minister Kishida Fumio has im­plemented significant adjustments to the country’s security policy. In December 2022, Tokyo published a new National Security Strategy along with two other defence-related strategic documents. In doing so, the...

The Russian attack on Ukraine has brought the question of the German Armed Forces’ operational capability back into focus. National defense, which seemed to play only a minor role with the end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact and the Soviet Union in 1991, now has gained a...

We provide quantitative evidence on the relationship between military spending and innovation in the 19th century. Combining innovation data from world fairs and historical military data across Europe, we show that national military spending is associated with national innovation towards war...