Consolidating the Defense-Industrial Base in the Post-Cold War Era: Budgetary Priorities & Procurement Policies in the U.S. & Western Europe

Abstract

This paper examines the U.S. and West European experiences with and approaches to the policy challenges of defense industry restructuring in the 1990s. the policies adopted by the Americans and West Europeans in their efforts to maintain their respective defense-industrial base (DIB) following the end of the Cold War provide instructive points of comparison that reveal both similarities and contrasts in approach with respect to the role of governments in managing and directing economic and industrial change. Attention is devoted to several related aspects: budgetary developments and trends, procurement policies, the pattern of industry mergers and acquisitions, policies of government with respect to promoting consolidation, and the prospects for future transatlantic cooperation in defense procurement.