Economics Commons^™

The Future Of The U.S. Defense Industry, Murray L. Weidenbaum

Murray Weidenbaum Publications

The U.S. defense industry is at a fork in the road and faces the prospect of substantial declines. There are two approaches that can be taken: Convert to civilian production or cut back and slim down. Conversion has a great deal of appeal, as it keeps the jobs of defense workers in place. The cut-back alternative is an austerity measure designed to maintain the financial health of the defense firms. The purpose of this paper is to provide some guidance in the selection between these two alternatives.