Defence Inflation
Defence Inflation

Author: Keith Hartley

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2018-10-18

Total Pages: 132

ISBN-13: 1351727338

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Defence inflation is a recurring factor in determining defence spending. It is widely reported in official government publications and in the trade press, but remains relatively neglected by defence and peace economists. In this book, international contributors from Finland, Norway, Sweden, the UK and the USA distinguish between defence inflation and cost escalation, and identify the causes of both. They use specific case studies to address a wide variety of theoretical and empirical issues and key questions, including the following: Does defence inflation affect all countries? What are its effects? Why does it occur? How (if at all) can defence inflation be controlled? While most industry and trade press devote considerable ink and space to the discussion of defence inflation, cost escalation, and their consequential impact on the purchasing dollars of the armed forces, economists have been relatively silent. This book aims to rectify this oversight through a multinational survey and analysis of the topic, while also identifying the opportunities for further theoretical and empirical research in the field. This book was originally published as a special issue of the journal Defence and Peace Economics.

New Approaches to Defense Inflation and Discounting
New Approaches to Defense Inflation and Discounting

Author: Kathryn Connor

Publisher:

Published: 2013

Total Pages: 42

ISBN-13: 9780833083395

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Inflation indices and discount rates are necessary tools in the Department of Defense's acquisition process, as the final selection of a system is partially based on potential increases in sustainment costs (inflation) and the present value of future costs (discounting). Inflation indices built for DoD use very broad categories that include operations and maintenance (O & M) as well as manpower, procurement, and research and development. This study addresses the question of how well current inflation indices and discount rates are serving DoD weaponsystem program management. It investigates inflation rates for parts for the Abrams tank and the Bradley armored personnel carrier and shows that the two weapon systems, while both ground systems, experience inflation differently. Although government decisionmaking can benefit from discounting (taking into account the time value of money), choices made using discounted cash flows are not always the least expensive for DoD. Its O & M estimating strategies should be reviewed to reflect changing repair and other costs, since a range of reasonable courses of action exists for many DoD investment decisions. Recommendations for the Office of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation to consider when evaluating the inflation and discounting policies that impact the long-term affordability of DoD programs include (1) revisiting O & M costs annually with a 5-year moving-average inflation, to reflect changing repair and other costs; (2) highlighting the role of supply chain surcharges in parts costs in cost estimates used to inform program financial analysis; (3) expanding analysis of investments to ensure consideration of least-cost outcomes.