El problema del coste de la defensa

Abstract

This article addresses the cost associated to defence, i.e., the resources that societies shall allocate to provide security to their members. It examines the methods and ways for setting and distributing these resources to obtain enough military capabilities for sustaining the perception of security of the citizens. The choice of an allocation that optimises social welfare is rather old and of constant concern. The main novelty of this article is exploring this problem from the bounded rationality of the human being, the imperfect information available, the choices unsupported by economic rationality and the constrained effectiveness of institutions and norms. These issues may drive to allocations that do not necessarily achieve the largest welfare.