Obstacles to redeployment of military resources for peaceful applications

Rigidity in rechannelling reduced expenditure on defence
Peace recession
Resistance to conversion from arms manufacture to a peaceful economy
Unforthcoming peace dividend

Nature

Resources currently employed in defence industries, weapons research and military activities cannot be redeployed quickly or easily into other economic sectors or to other countries in the form of increased aid. The obstacles to such redeployment include the way in which many jobs are currently tied to such expenditures, especially in economies with high unemployment.

Incidence

In the case of the USA, dependence of the economy on military expenditure has created fears that a peace dividend might cause a peace recession. Approximately 20,000 defence contractors (and 100,000 sub-contractors) are engaged on defence projects with some 8 million Americans receiving salaries associated with some form of military activity. Advocates of increased defence spending argue that it leads to more jobs and a healthier economy.

Claim

It is a myth that smaller armies are cheaper. Smaller armies need to be better trained, better equipped and better paid. Restructuring of the military into a smaller configuration can be achieved but the cost of the result will remain the same.

Counter-claim

For every billion dollars spent on military procurement in the USA, it has been estimated that 28,000 jobs are created. The same expenditure would create 32,000 jobs in public transportation and 71,000 jobs in education.