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War and underdevelopment: Can economic analysis help reduce the costs?
Author(s) -
Stewart Frances
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
journal of international development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.533
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1099-1328
pISSN - 0954-1748
DOI - 10.1002/jid.3380050403
Subject(s) - underdevelopment , neglect , economic cost , psychological intervention , typology , economics , public economics , development economics , process (computing) , economic policy , economic growth , risk analysis (engineering) , business , sociology , computer science , medicine , nursing , neoclassical economics , psychiatry , anthropology , operating system
It is undeniable that wars impose enormous human, social and economic costs on the countries involved. It is equally true that wars, at the very least, undermine the process of development. Despite widespread recognition of these simple facts there is remarkably little economic analysis of the effects of war and of what can be done to mitigate these effects. This paper is a step towards reversing such neglect in economic literature. The paper outlines the routes through which war imposes human, development and economic costs. A typology of wars is presented and the available evidence on some 16 countries' experiences with war is reviewed. The routes through which wars impose costs are traced with a view to identifying some policy interventions that can mitigate the economic effects. Feasible policies include interventions which help to alleviate the impact of war, such as providing food and relief to maintain social services, and those which mitigate against long‐term costs by, for example, maintaining infrastructure. There are no simple solutions, but economic analysis of wars can assist in the design of policies to reduce the developmental costs associated with wars.