Castles, battles, & bombs [[electronic resource] ] : how economics explains military history / / Jurgen Brauer and Hubert van Tuyll

• Autore: Brauer Jurgen <1957->
• Pubblicazione: Chicago, : University of Chicago Press, 2008
• Descrizione fisica: 1 online resource (425 p.)
• Disciplina: 355.02/73
• Soggetto topico: War - Economic aspects - History; Military history
• Soggetto genere / forma: Electronic books.
• Altri autori: Van TuyllHubert P
• Note generali: Description based upon print version of record.
• Nota di bibliografia: Includes bibliographical references (p. 367-385) and index.
• Nota di contenuto: Preface -- Economics -- Economics -- Principle I: Opportunity cost -- Principle II: Expected marginal costs and benefits -- Principle III: Substitution -- Principle IV: Diminishing marginal returns -- Principle V: asymmetric information and hidden characteristics -- Principle VI: Hidden actions and incentive alignments -- Conclusion: economics--and military history -- The high Middle Ages, 1000-1300: The case of the medieval castle and the opportunity cost of warfare -- Opportunity cost and warfare -- The ubiquity of castles -- The cost of castling -- The advantages of castles -- The cost of armies -- Castle building and the other principles of economics -- Conclusion -- The Renaissance, 1300-1600: the case of the condottieri and the military labor market -- The principal-agent problem -- Demand, supply, and recruitment -- Contracts and pay -- Control and contract evolution -- The development of permanent armies -- Condottieri and the other principles of economics -- Conclusion -- The age of battle, 1618-1815: the case of costs, benefits, and the decision to offer battle -- Expected marginal costs and benefits of battle -- The 1600s: Gustavus Adolphus and Raimondo de Montecuccoli -- The 1700s: Marlborough, de Saxe, and Frederick the Great -- Napoleonic warfare -- The age of battle and the other principles of economics -- Conclusion -- The age of revolution, 1789-1914: the case of the American Civil War and the economics of information asymmetry -- Information and warfare -- North, South, and the search for information -- Major Eastern campaigns through Gettysburg -- Grant in Virginia -- The American Civil War and the other principles of economics -- Conclusion -- The age of the world wars, 1914-1945: the case of diminishing marginal returns to the strategic bombing of Germany in World War II -- A strategic bombing production function -- Bombing German war production -- Bombing the supply chain and the civilian economy -- Bombing German morale -- Assessing the effect of strategic bombing -- Strategic bombing and the other principles of economics -- Conclusion -- The age of the Cold War, 1945-1991: the case of capital-labor substitution and France's Force de Frappe -- History of the Force de Frappe -- The force post-De Gaulle -- Justifying the force -- The force's effect on France's conventional arms -- Substituting nuclear for conventional forces -- The Force de Frappe and the other principles of economics -- Conclusion -- Economics and military history in the twenty-first century -- Economics of terrorism -- Economics of military manpower -- Economics of private military companies -- Economics, historiography, and military history -- Conclusion -- Notes -- References -- Index.
• Sommario/riassunto: Castles, Battles, and Bombs reconsiders key episodes of military history from the point of view of economics-with dramatically insightful results. For example, when looked at as a question of sheer cost, the building of castles in the High Middle Ages seems almost inevitable: though stunningly expensive, a strong castle was far cheaper to maintain than a standing army. The authors also reexamine the strategic bombing of Germany in World War II and provide new insights into France's decision to develop nuclear weapons. Drawing on these examples and more,
• Titolo autorizzato: Castles, battles, & bombs
• ISBN: 1-281-95921-9; 9786611959210; 0-226-07165-0
• Formato: Materiale a stampa
• Livello bibliografico: Monografia
• Lingua di pubblicazione: Inglese
• Record Nr.: 9910453860703321
• Lo trovi qui: Univ. Federico II