Abstract
In this article I argue that the data collection methods and procedures behind the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute’s (SIPRI) global arms trade database can also be used to approximate domestic purchases of local production of major conventional arms. The total output of domestic arms industries would then be the sum of what is domestically retained (procured) plus arms exports, if any. The feasibility of this idea is tested by presenting new data on domestic arms production for five South American countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Venezuela) between 1960 and 2015. The results show the critical role government purchases play in maintaining domestic arms industries.
Highlights
One of the main research challenges in defense and peace economics concerns data availability
Regarded by many as the most authoritative source of information for defense and peace economics research, its data are widely used in the literature
I argue that collecting or imputing such data is feasible by using the same measurement methodology Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) currently applies to build its arms trade database—the Trend Indicator Value (TIV)
Summary
One of the main research challenges in defense and peace economics concerns data availability. I discuss one, if perhaps not the main, shortcoming of SIPRI’s databases, namely the lack of data on domestic arms production and procurement. SIPRI’s arms industry database, in its current form, has some limitations that may hamper efforts to account for domestic procurement or national arms production output.
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