본문 내용으로 건더뛰기

KDI 경제교육·정보센터

ENG
  • 경제배움
  • Economic

    Information

    and Education

    Center

전망·동향
The economic effects of rearmament: evidence from Nazi Germany
IFW
2026.06.10
Using novel archival data on the German Luftwaffe, I estimate the causal effect of military spending on unemployment in Nazi Germany between 1932 and 1936. Exploiting cross-district variation of supplier locations, I estimate the impact of military procurement on local labor market outcomes. I find that the average supplier location experienced a decline in unemployment per capita of approximately 6 percentage points. A back-of-the-envelope calculation suggests that total military spending represents around 32% of the observed aggregate fall in unemployment. I also find evidence of significant spillovers, indicating that my results likely underestimate the true effect of military spending.