The Political Economy of NORAD

ABSTRACT

This introductory article provides an overview of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) as well as the contents of this special issue. NORAD is one of the oldest bi-national defence agreements in the world but the economics assessment of it remains scant. This special issue is one attempt to address this oversight. The articles in this special issue focus on the economic aspects of NORAD and its modernization. They delve into economic theories of alliances, burden sharing, potential private benefits of modernization, public choice theory and the impact on local communities and industries.

By focusing on the political economy of NORAD, this introductory article underscores the importance of NORAD in the face of evolving threats and calls for greater attention from defense economists to address the complex economic and strategic dynamics involved.

KEYWORDS:

• The economics of alliance
• joint product model
• public choice
• NORAD
• burden sharing

JEL CLASSIFICATION:

• D74
• H42
• H56

Acknowledgment

This special issue would not have been possible without the help and guidance of Christos Kolias (editor) and Keith Hartley. Earlier versions of the articles in this special issue were presented at the 2022 Western Economics Association International meeting in Portland, Oregon and Defence and Security Economics Workshop (2022) in Ottawa, Canada. We would like to thank the participants and discussants at these meetings including Ellen Pint, Steve Green, Julien Malizard, Josselin Droff, Raymond Franck and Daniel Arce for their helpful comments and suggestions.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. Nine months earlier, in September 1957, the two nations agreed to create the bi-national command and centralize operational control of continental air defence against the threat of Soviet bombers. https://www.norad.mil/Newsroom/Fact-Sheets/Article-View/Article/578772/norad-agreement/.

2. NORAD is a bi-national structure implying that it is equally responsible to, and made up of personnel from, both Canada and the US. The other defence arrangements discussed in subsequent sections are bilateral or mutual defence agreements recognizing and allowing cooperation in continental and international security and defence issues.

3. https://www.norad.mil/About-NORAD/NORAD-History/ Accessed February 5, 2024.

4. https://www.norad.mil/About-NORAD/Continental-US-NORAD-Region/.

5. https://www.ccc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/DPSA-Brochure-English-Aug-2020.pdf.

6. https://www.ccc.ca/en/about/.

7. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/71-607-x/71-607-x2019005-eng.htm.

8. https://doi.org/10.1080/10242694.2023.2209772.

9. https://doi.org/10.1080/10242694.2023.2232974.

10. https://doi.org/10.1080/10242694.2023.2228565.

11. Based on information from ISED, https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/aerospace-defence/en/resources/defence-development-sharing-agreement-between-canada-and-united-states-america Accessed February 4th 2024.