Guns N Books: a Comparison of Two Government Spending Models in U.S. States Over Time

• In Event: 40860 - Section on Economic Sociology Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 8. Fiscal regimes

Abstract

The future of university-driven science in the United States—the global leader in research—is increasingly uncertain. While the cultural, health, and technological benefits of scientific knowledge are well established, its macroeconomic advantages remain understudied. This paper examines how university-based research contributes to economic well-being in comparison to military spending, a long-standing pillar of economic stability in the U.S. economy. The literature on military Keynesianism suggests that defense spending functions as a stabilizing force, yet as the economy transitions to a post-industrial, knowledge-driven model, universities may serve as a more sustainable driver of economic resilience. This study tests three core hypotheses: 1. University-Science (U-S) will improve economic well-being in U.S. States, 2. The effect of U-S has increased over time, 3. The effect of Defense Dependence has decreased over time.

To assess these claims, we utilize the U.S. State Economic Well-Being and Federal Spending Dataset, compiled from publicly available sources such as the Department of Defense, Census Bureau, and the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics. Economic well-being is measured through indicators such as median income, poverty rates, unemployment, and income inequality. Defense spending is operationalized through federal defense contracts and personnel expenditures, while university-science funding includes research grants, doctoral degree production, and STEM workforce development. Control variables account for regional economic factors, including manufacturing output, state debt, and non-defense federal expenditures.

A pooled time-series analysis covering all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia from 2013 to 2023 will be conducted to evaluate the effects of university-science and defense dependency on state-level economic well-being. Preliminary models examined over a few years, have shown this approach is feasible. However, further refinement of these measures, along with an extended time series analysis, will provide a more precise understanding of how economic well-being is influenced by university-science funding and defense dependency.

Authors

• Kassandra Thompson, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

• Gordon Gauchat, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee