The peace dividend is a political slogan popularized by US President George H.W. Bush and UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in the early 1990s, purporting to describe the economic benefit of a decrease in defense spending. It is used primarily in discussions relating to the guns versus butter theory. The term was frequently used at the end of the Cold War, when many Western nations significantly cut military spending. Order: 41st President Vice President: Dan Quayle Term of office: January 20, 1989 – January 20, 1993 Preceded by: Ronald Reagan Succeeded by: Bill Clinton Date of birth: June 12, 1924 Place of birth: Milton, Massachusetts First Lady: Barbara Pierce Bush Political party: Republican George Herbert Walker Bush, KBE (born... Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, LG, OM, PC, FRS (née Roberts; born 13 October 1925) served as British Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990 and leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 until 1990, being the first and to date only woman to hold either post. ... For the band, see 1990s (band). ... ‹ The template below is being considered for deletion. ... In economics, the guns versus butter model is the classic example of the production possibility frontier. ... For other uses, see Cold War (disambiguation). ... The term Western world, the West or the Occident (Latin occidens -sunset, -west, as distinct from the Orient) [1] can have multiple meanings dependent on its context (e. ... A military budget of an entity, most often a nation or a state is the budget and financial resources dedicated to raising and maintaining armed forces for that entity. ...

While economies do undergo a recession after the end of a major conflict as the economy is forced to adjust and retool, a "peace dividend" refers to a potential long-term benefit as budgets for defense spending are assumed to be at least partially redirected to social programs and/or economic growth. The existence of a peace dividend in real economies is still debated, but some research points to its reality^[1]. In macroeconomics, the definition of recession is a decline in any countrys Gross Domestic Product (GDP), or negative real economic growth, for two or more successive quarters of a year. ...

A political discussion about the peace dividend resulting from the end of the Cold War involves a debate about which countries have actually scaled back military spending and which have not. The scale back in defense spending was mainly noticeable in Western Europe and originally in the Russian Federation. In contrast to this the United States have not done so, as the country has been engaged in several military conflicts since the end of the Cold War, most notably the War on Terror and the War in Iraq, which are both consuming large sums of money. For other uses, see Cold War (disambiguation). ... The borders of Western Europe were largely defined by the Cold War. ... For other uses, see Cold War (disambiguation). ... This article is about U.S. actions, and those of other states, after September 11, 2001. ... There have been three conflicts in the late 20th century and early 21st century called Gulf War, all of which refer to conflicts in the Persian Gulf region: Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988) (aka First Gulf War). ...

While European observers have criticized the US for not scaling back its defense spending, US politicians and commentators have accused Europe of free-riding on their defense budget.

"Peace dividend" can also refer to the improved economy in Northern Ireland after the signing of the Good Friday Agreement. Northern Ireland (Irish: ) is a part of the United Kingdom lying in the northeast of the island of Ireland, covering 5,459 square miles (14,139 km², about a sixth of the islands total area). ... The Belfast Agreement (also known as the Good Friday Agreement and, more rarely, as the Stormont Agreement) was signed in Belfast on April 10, 1998 by the British and Irish Governments and endorsed by most Northern Ireland political parties. ...

Notes

1. ^ Sanjeev Gupta, Benedict Clements, Rina Bhattacharya, and Shamit Chakravarti, "The Elusive Peace Dividend", http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2002/12/gupta.htm