Cover: Mechanics of some limited disarmament measures: a simple economic treatment.

Mechanics of some limited disarmament measures: a simple economic treatment.

by Allen R. Ferguson

Purchase Print Copy

 FormatList Price Price
Add to Cart Paperback19 pages $15.00 $12.00 20% Web Discount

An attempt to determine how disarmament measures affect the economics of military power. The study suggests that although the broader the definition of weapon systems limited by an arms control measure, the greater is its effect, if successive expansion in scope is possible. If one agreement is expected to make successive ones easier, the expected arms control effect of a measure of narrow scope is greater than would otherwise be the case. "Narrow" arms control measures may, under the restricted conditions assumed, tend to be mutually reinforcing both in a simple sense and in that they may make secret, illicit capability disproportionately difficult. The fact that a weapon system is inefficient, and not used, does not necessarily mean that its proscription would have an expected arms control effect of zero. Some tentative implications for research are also suggested.

This report is part of the RAND Corporation Paper series. The paper was a product of the RAND Corporation from 1948 to 2003 that captured speeches, memorials, and derivative research, usually prepared on authors' own time and meant to be the scholarly or scientific contribution of individual authors to their professional fields. Papers were less formal than reports and did not require rigorous peer review.

This document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law. This representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for noncommercial use only. Unauthorized posting of this publication online is prohibited; linking directly to this product page is encouraged. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of its research documents for commercial purposes. For information on reprint and reuse permissions, please visit www.rand.org/pubs/permissions.

The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis. RAND's publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors.