cover of episode Two Indicators: Economics of the defense industry

Two Indicators: Economics of the defense industry

2024/2/21
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Cynthia Cook
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Mary Childs
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Phil McManus
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Phil McManus 指出美国政府在军事装备采购中支付过高的价格，这不仅导致预算超支，还可能影响军事行动的有效性，甚至危及士兵的生命安全。他以一个螺栓为例，说明了政府采购中存在的问题。 John Hamry 和其他专家分析了政府在国防采购中的垄断性购买力（monopsony power）和国防承包商的垄断力（monopoly power）之间的博弈。政府虽然拥有强大的购买力，但由于国防装备的特殊性，往往只有少数几家公司能够生产，这使得承包商拥有较强的议价能力，导致价格居高不下。 Doug Berenson 解释了冷战结束后，美国政府为了避免国防承包商倒闭，默许了行业整合，导致竞争减少，最终导致价格上涨。 Cynthia Cook 详细阐述了“准时制生产”（Just-in-time production）模式对美国军火生产的影响。这种模式虽然在和平时期可以提高效率，降低成本，但在战争时期却暴露出其供应链脆弱性，难以应对突发的大规模需求。乌克兰战争中155毫米炮弹的短缺就是典型的例子。 William LaPlante 和 Robert Wall 都认为，对短期效率的过度关注和对“准时制生产”模式的依赖，导致美国军火供应链缺乏弹性，难以应对大规模冲突的需求。 他们指出，美国军方需要重新评估其采购策略，增加冗余生产能力，以应对未来潜在的冲突和危机。 美国政府对国防开支的巨大投入，以及由此产生的高昂成本，是由于多种因素共同作用的结果。其中，政府与国防承包商之间的力量博弈，以及冷战后政府对行业整合的默许，导致了市场竞争的减少，从而提高了国防装备的价格。此外，‘准时制生产’模式虽然在和平时期可以提高效率，降低成本，但在战争时期却暴露出其供应链脆弱性，难以应对突发的大规模需求。乌克兰战争中155毫米炮弹的短缺就是典型的例子。因此，美国军方需要重新评估其采购策略，增加冗余生产能力，以应对未来潜在的冲突和危机。

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The Department of Defense's proposed budget for 2024 is $842 billion. That is about 3.5% of the U.S.'s GDP. The military buys everything from pens and paper clips to fighter jets and submarines. But the market for military equipment is very different from the commercial market.On today's episode, we're bringing you two stories from The Indicator's) series on defense spending that explore that market. As the U.S. continues to send weapons to Ukraine and Israel, we first look at why defense costs are getting so high. Then, we dive into whether bare-bones manufacturing styles are leaving the U.S. military in a bind.*The original Indicator episodes were produced by Cooper Katz McKim with engineering from Maggie Luthar and James Willetts. It was fact-checked by Sierra Juarez and Angel Carreras. They were edited by Kate Concannon and Paddy Hirsch. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money's executive producer. Help support Planet Money and get bonus episodes by subscribing to Planet Money+ in Apple Podcasts) or at plus.npr.org/planetmoney).*Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices)NPR Privacy Policy)