Authors: Nick Stamatelopoulos, Athanasios Anastasiou

Title: Military spending and economic growth in hard core of the member states of the European Union: a dynamic panel data analysis.

Abstract

Defense and the economy are the two main pillars on which a state's high strategy rests. And this is because defense protects the state from external dangers and threats, while economic empowerment is an indicator of a country's prosperity but also a powerful weapon against the opponent. In particular, it could be argued that the relationship between a country's economy and defense is parallel, as one complements the other.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the correlation of the defense costs paid by countries that are at the same time member states of the European Union, members of the Eurozone and members of NATO and therefore belong to the hard core of the member states of the European Union, with the economic development of these countries. Attempts are still being made to investigate defense spending, as a percentage of EU member states' central government spending, and whether they have a negative effect on the economic growth of the European Union, compared to the economies of Israel and the USΑ.