The peace dividend in post-apartheid South Africa

It is generally proposed that high and rising defense expenditures ¹ in a developing country absorb scarce resources that could otherwise have been utilized more effectively and meaningfully in non-military endeavors. By extending the argument to include the crowding-out effect, inflationary financing of defense spending, widening current account deficits, oligopsonistic market conditions, and human capital distortions the conclusion is reached that a high defense burden compromises long-run growth and socio-economic development (notwithstanding Benoit’s claim to the opposite, in 1973).