Castles, battles, & bombs : how economics explains military history / Jurgen Brauer and Hubert van Tuyll.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Brauer, Jurgen, 1957-

Contributor:

Van Tuyll, Hubert P.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

War--Economic aspects--History.

War.

Military history.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (425 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Other Title:

Castles, battles, and bombs

Place of Publication:

Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 2008.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Castles, Battles, and Bombs reconsiders key episodes of military history from the point of view of economics-with dramatically insightful results. For example, when looked at as a question of sheer cost, the building of castles in the High Middle Ages seems almost inevitable: though stunningly expensive, a strong castle was far cheaper to maintain than a standing army. The authors also reexamine the strategic bombing of Germany in World War II and provide new insights into France's decision to develop nuclear weapons. Drawing on these examples and more,

Contents:

Preface

Economics

Principle I: Opportunity cost

Principle II: Expected marginal costs and benefits

Principle III: Substitution

Principle IV: Diminishing marginal returns

Principle V: asymmetric information and hidden characteristics

Principle VI: Hidden actions and incentive alignments

Conclusion: economics

and military history

The high Middle Ages, 1000-1300: The case of the medieval castle and the opportunity cost of warfare

Opportunity cost and warfare

The ubiquity of castles

The cost of castling

The advantages of castles

The cost of armies

Castle building and the other principles of economics

Conclusion

The Renaissance, 1300-1600: the case of the condottieri and the military labor market

The principal-agent problem

Demand, supply, and recruitment

Contracts and pay

Control and contract evolution

The development of permanent armies

Condottieri and the other principles of economics

The age of battle, 1618-1815: the case of costs, benefits, and the decision to offer battle

Expected marginal costs and benefits of battle

The 1600s: Gustavus Adolphus and Raimondo de Montecuccoli

The 1700s: Marlborough, de Saxe, and Frederick the Great

Napoleonic warfare

The age of battle and the other principles of economics

The age of revolution, 1789-1914: the case of the American Civil War and the economics of information asymmetry

Information and warfare

North, South, and the search for information

Major Eastern campaigns through Gettysburg

Grant in Virginia

The American Civil War and the other principles of economics

The age of the world wars, 1914-1945: the case of diminishing marginal returns to the strategic bombing of Germany in World War II

A strategic bombing production function

Bombing German war production

Bombing the supply chain and the civilian economy

Bombing German morale

Assessing the effect of strategic bombing

Strategic bombing and the other principles of economics

The age of the Cold War, 1945-1991: the case of capital-labor substitution and France's Force de Frappe

History of the Force de Frappe

The force post-De Gaulle

Justifying the force

The force's effect on France's conventional arms

Substituting nuclear for conventional forces

The Force de Frappe and the other principles of economics

Economics and military history in the twenty-first century

Economics of terrorism

Economics of military manpower

Economics of private military companies

Economics, historiography, and military history

Notes

References

Index.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 367-385) and index.

ISBN:

9786611959210

9781281959218

1281959219

9780226071657

0226071650

OCLC:

304605070