Replication data for: Bearing the Defense Burden, 1886-1989

Competing hypotheses are tested on an extensive set of defense-burden data to determine the general factors that influence states' levels of military spending. Results provide some clear answers to longstanding questions and supply newfindings that beg further investigation. When controls are introduced for domestic political and economic factors, several international factors, including alliances and rivalries, lose statistical significance. Consistent with liberal theory, regime type has a robust effect: democracies spend proportionately less on defense than other states. As implied by realism, under conditions of economic growth or high levels of wealth, \"extra\" resources are diverted disproportionately to the military.

本研究依托大规模国防负担数据对竞争性假说展开检验，旨在探明影响各国军事开支规模的一般性因素。研究结果既为长期存在的学术议题提供了清晰解答，也产出了有待进一步探究的全新发现。当纳入国内政治与经济因素作为控制变量后，包括同盟与敌对关系在内的多项国际因素不再具有统计学显著性。与自由主义理论的预期相符，政体类型对国防开支存在显著且稳定的影响：民主国家的国防开支占比低于其他政体国家。而正如现实主义理论所预示，当国家处于经济增长或高财富水平的状态时，其‘额外’资源会不成比例地流向军事领域。