NewsNotes
January 2003

Please note: our Spring Fundraiser, an evening with Joseph Stiglitz, originally scheduled for February 12th, has been postponed until April 1, 2003.

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We are pleased to announce the release on January 3rd of The ECAAR Review 2003. This year's edition is titled, "Conflict or Development?" and has a regional focus on Africa, the site of most of the world's current armed conflicts. In its pages some of the leading economists of the day analyze and reflect on the relationships among military spending, domestic and foreign policy, security, and human welfare. Features include country studies and sections on business and conflict and "Trends in World Military Expenditure." Written in clear English, with informative maps, tables, and graphs, the series is designed to inform the debate among policymakers, activists, journalists, academics, students, and citizens worldwide.

* You can order the Review by following this link: http://www.ecaar.org/Review_files/order.htm

* We believe the Review can be a valuable teaching tool in economics, political science, and international relations courses. If you are interested in teaching this book, please contact Kate Cell (Katecell@ecaar.org)for a copy to review.

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Also released last week: the culmination of an 18 month study, led by ECAAR Board member, Richard Kaufman working with several ECAAR members and other scholars, a report on "The Full Cost of Ballistic Missile Defense." The study estimates the total life-cycle cost for a layered missile defense system at nearly $1.2 trillion through 2035.

Kenneth Arrow, Nobel Laureate and ECAAR Board member, writes in the introduction , "Some might say 'when it comes to national security, costs don't matter.' But, of course, what economists tell us is that costs always matter. Something else has to be given up, and when the magnitudes are those found in this study, a lot has to be given up."

* You can order a copy of the report from the Center for Arms Control and Nonproliferation, co-sponsor of the study, at http://www.armscontrolcenter.org/nmd/fullcost.html. Or download a PDF file from http://www.ecaar.org/index.htm.

* ECAAR Board members Richard Kaufman and Lawrence Klein will present the study to the UN Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters, followed by a press conference and briefing for NGOs, Delegations and the press, at 11am on Friday, February 7th (date and time tentative). For more information on this event, email Lucy Webster, ECAAR's Program Director, at mailto:lucywebster@ecaar.org.

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ECAAR is a founding member of the new Security Policy Working Group(SPWG).
*Other members are:
-Bill Hartung of the Arms Trade Resource Center http://www.worldpolicy.org/projects/arms/at the World Policy Institute;
-Marcus Corbin and Winslow Wheeler, Center for Defense Information, http://www.cdi.org/;
-Steve Kosiak, Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, http://www.csbaonline.org;
-Rob Manoff, Center for War, Peace and the News Media, http://www.nyu.edu/cwpnm/;
-Greg Speeter, National Priorities Project, http://www.nationalpriorities.org/;
-David Gold, New School University, http://www.newschool.edu/;
-Carl Conetta and Charles Knight, Project on Defense Alternatives, http://www.comw.org/pda/
-Cindy Williams, Security Studies program at MIT, http://web.mit.edu/cis/Programs/ssp.html.

*The first joint project of the SPWG was a briefing book, citizens' guide, and invited roundtable on "Security After 9/11: Strategic Choices and Budget Tradeoffs."
-To read the briefing book, visit http://www.cdi.org/spwg/.
-To read the citizens' guide, "A Safer America," visit http://www.nationalpriorities.org/saferamericablackwhite.pdf

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ACTION CORNER:
Move On, a website dedicated to democracy in action, is organizing meetings with Senators and Congressional Representative all over the country, to voice opposition to a war in Iraq, and support for the inspection process. You can get more information, or sign up to go to a meeting at http://www.moveon.org/. While many of us feel strongly that war is not the answer, the distinctive element that ECAAR members can bring to these meetings is actual economic research about the possible costs and consequences of a war with Iraq. There are several good articles on the ECAAR website http://www.ecaar.org/index.htm - if you decide to get involved at a grassroots level, please read them and take the numbers with you.

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*UPCOMING EVENTS:
The Seventh Annual International Conference on Economics and Security, June 26th to 28th, at the University of the West of England, Bristol, UK. For more information, visit http://carecon.org.uk/Conferences/Conf2003/CONF2003.html.

*We would like News Notes to be a way for ECAAR members and our community to keep in touch. In future issues we will include, if you send them to us, notices on events and publications that you are involved with.

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