The Impact of Military Expenditures on Human Capital Development in the Arab World

Abstract

It is often argued that the post-1973/74 expansion in military expenditures undertaken by the Persian Gulf States has led to competition between the military and civilian sectors for skilled labour. Furthermore, military expenditures are said to have pre-empted funds that might otherwise have been allocated to education and the improvement of human capital. It is argued that, as a result, military expenditures in the region tended to frustrate the oil exporters' ambitious economic development programmes, especially those of the less-populated oil exporting countries.