Peace dividend

Encyclopedia : P : PE : PEA : Peace dividend

The peace dividend is a political slogan purporting to describe the economic benefit of a decrease in defense spending. It is used primarily in discussions relating to the guns versus butter theory. The term was frequently used at the end of the Cold War in the early 1990s, when many Western nations significantly cut military spending.

The concept of a "peace dividend" assumes that the budget for defense spending will be at least partially redirected to social programs and/or economic growth. The existence of a peace dividend in real economies remains unproven. Most economies, in contrast, undergo a recession after the end of a major conflict as the economy is forced to adjust and retool.

"Peace dividend" can also refer to the improved economy in Northern Ireland after the signing of the Good Friday Agreement.

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.