Economic Costs and Consequences of War

Violence and conflict can occur between organized political groups such as states, ethnic, and religious groups and other organizations. The most prevalent and costly are external conflicts and internal conflicts such as civil wars and terrorism. In this analysis, I concentrate on external conflict or war. Although these have been occurring less frequent than civil wars and terrorism in the last couple of decades, the required amount of military spending to prepare for war and the cost incurred during and after a war is substantially greater than the other forms of conflict. I present the direct and indirect cost of such wars to both the participants and the international community.