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Wiley InterScience

International Affairs

International Affairs

Volume 82 Issue 4, Pages 675 - 684

Published Online: 22 Jun 2006

© 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd/The Royal Institute of International Affairs



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The economics of UK nuclear weapons policy
KEITH HARTLEY 1
  1 Professor of Economics and Director of the Centre for Defence Economics at the University of York. He is the founding editor of the journal Defence and Peace Economics. Current research interests include defence industrial policy in military alliances; the UK Defence Industrial Strategy; determining the pro. tability of non-competitive defence contracts; the economic benefits of Eurofighter Typhoon; the costs of conflict; the UK all-volunteer force; and military outsourcing. He is the editor (with Todd Sandler) of the Handbook of defence economics (2007 forthcoming).
Copyright The Royal Institute of International Affairs 2006

ABSTRACT

The Trident replacement decision has an economic aspect that cannot be ignored, namely, its costs. This article presents a cost-benefit framework for assessing the replacement decision and its alternatives. The replacement decision is presented against the background of the defence economics problem showing the opportunities for substitution and the need for difficult defence choices in a world of uncertainty. A framework for choices is outlined showing the range and type of information needed for sensible decision-making in this area. A range of conventional force alternatives is estimated as well as alternative civil spending. The impact of the replacement decision on the UK submarine industrial base is assessed, including the challenges of reaching a partnering agreement and negotiating an incentive contract with a UK monopoly supplier. The cost figures used for the Trident replacement are illustrative only and show how the programme can be evaluated.


DIGITAL OBJECT IDENTIFIER (DOI)
10.1111/j.1468-2346.2006.00562.x About DOI

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