Josselin Droff and Julien Malizard, researchers at Chair in Defence Economics publish in the Journal of Regional and Urban Economics (HCERES:B, CNRS:3) an article entitled: « When the army leaves! An empirical analysis of the coherence of the Ministry of the Armed Forces' support for territories« .
Summary of the article:
At the intersection between the’public policy evaluation and the’regional economy, this article assesses, on the basis of a original database, the coherence of the policy of support to the territorial restructuring of defence in France since the late 2000s.
How consistent is the public decision-maker's role in allocating aid to territories as part of the restructuring of the Ministry of the Armed Forces?
Based on data collected at the’departmental level, a econometric analysis compares the demographic, economic and political situation of the territories with the financial compensation received. The results show that the DAR (Delegation for regional support) is target territories a priori the most exposed negative economic consequences of restructuring.
- The probability of receiving aid is positively influenced by the intensity of the change in military personnels in relation to total employment and the unemployment rate of the department.
- The allocation of grants is influenced by the’age of the population and the public decision-maker seems to have a preference for allocating aid to «young» areas.
- The Ministry of the Armed Forces tends to promoting rural areas, It can be assumed that their economies are less resilient in the face of major departures of military personnel.
- The more a department is represented on the Committee on National Defence and the Armed Forces of the National Assembly, the greater the likelihood that it will receive aid.
This analysis questions the regional planning logic present in the policy of rationalisation of the Ministry of the Armed Forces. Overall, the results show that reorganisations of the defence not «above ground» and that the territories and their economic situation are integrated in the overall strategy of the public decision-maker.
The Ministry of the Armed Forces is not a Ministry of Spatial Planning, but a sovereign ministry that also carries out spatial planning when necessary.
Find out more about the Chair's other work on the subject:
This new article by researchers at the Chair in Defence Economics is a continuation of a theme - the study of defence activities through the prism of the regional economy - developed by the Chair over several years through several publications :
2018
Josselin Droff and Julien Malizard publish in the National Defence Review an article entitled: « Military map reforms: what regional scope?« . The military map is both the heir to a history of the defence strategy and political choices complexes. In this article, the authors study quantitatively successive reforms of the military map since the end of the Cold War: the north-east quarter is the most affected but the weight of history continues to have a strong structuring effect.
2017
Josselin Droff and Julien Malizard, in « The place and structuring role of defence industries in the reorganisation of France's military map » (National Defence Review), are interested in the issue of role played by the defence industries in areas that have undergone major restructuring of the armed forces following the 2008 reform. They show that in the restructuring aid schemes set up by the Ministry of the Armed Forces, initiatives aimed at supporting the’private offer and in particular business start-ups. The article shows the a structuring and significant role that the defence industries in these initiatives aimed at promoting the development of economic activities in the private sector.
2015
Josselin Droff (in collaboration with Alfredo Paloyo (University of Wollongong, Australia) have published an article entitled « Assessing the regional economic impact of defence activities: a survey of methods »in the Journal of Economic Surveys (HCERES:A, CNRS:2). The article proposes a literature review in economics on issues relating to the evaluation of economic impact of defence activities in their regional environment. In particular, it stresses the need to go beyond assessments that are purely confined to a given area (monographs, studies with methodologies ad hoc) to move towards econometric studies with a more general scope.
2014
Josselin Droff and Julien Malizard, published an article entitled« Rationalisation versus History of the geographical organisation of defence in France »in the Journal of Regional and Urban Economics ((HCERES:B, CNRS:3). The article highlights a play of forces between concentration and geographical dispersion. On the one hand, recent trends in the’organisation of the armed forces show a logic of economic rationalisation and geographical concentration. On the other hand, the dispersed spatial configuration of defence, a legacy of several centuries of history, is a major factor in restructuring. This interplay of forces can be illuminated by the concept of «regression cost». The article then provides a general overview of social and territorial costs associated with defence rationalisation.
2013
Josselin Droff, Researcher at the Chair in Defence Economics supports his doctoral thesis in economics : « The space factor in defence economics: application to the maintenance in operational condition (MCO) of defence equipment». Visit chapters 1 and 2 of the thesis deal in particular with questions of‘he impact of defence activities (economic, social, spatial planning) on the territories and of the territorial reorganisations defence.
