ABSTRACT

Nations and their citizens now demand clear evidence as to the benefits of defence spending. The opportunity cost of defence expenditure against other sectors is constantly queried. It is economically challenging to find consensus amongst traditional economists, and policy-makers, on how to measure value in the context of defence. This article offers solutions by using the case study of Malaysia. Primary data sources include open-ended and semi structured interviews to produce a thematic discussion, as well as secondary resources. The author argues that it is hard to appraise defence value, as measurements are case-specific. Rather, the paper will use a novel ‘Triple-Defence Value Framework’, to argue that value can be measured by dividing the role of defence into a primary level: for protection and safety; a secondary level: for socio-economic prosperity; and a tertiary level: for soft power projection. The paper concludes by using the framework to measure the value derived from the Malaysian defence sector.

摘要

国家及其公民现在需要明确的证据证明国防开支的好处。国防开支对其他部门的机会成本不断受到质疑。在传统经济学家和政策制定者之间就如何在国防背景下衡量价值达成共识在经济上具有挑战性。本文通过使用马来西亚的案例研究提供解决方案。主要数据来源包括用于进行主题讨论的开放式和半结构化访谈，以及次要资源。作者认为很难评估防御价值，因为衡量是针对特定案例的。相反，本文将使用一种新颖的“三重防御价值框架”，论证价值可以通过将防御的作用划分为一个主要层次来衡量：保护和安全；二级：促进社会经济繁荣；第三个层次：软实力投射。本文最后使用该框架来衡量来自马来西亚国防部门的价值。