Allocating Security Expenditures under Knightian Uncertainty: an Info-Gap Approach
In this paper we demonstrate a methodology aimed at coping with resource allocation under Knightian (non-probabilistic) uncertainty by focusing on the example of competing security measures. The results of this application to security resource allocation also allow us to postulate a possible positivist explanation for the way governments are allocating these expenditures today. We explore […]
Investment Policies in Defense R&D Programs
Investment in advanced defense technologies is a prominent characteristic of modern armed forces. The paper examines the optimal investment policy in developing such technologies, accounting for their S-shaped progress profile and the stochastic nature of the R&D process. We show that the optimal investment is a discontinuous function of the available budget, and that its […]
The Cycle of Violence? An Empirical Analysis of Fatalities in the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict
This paper studies the dynamics of violence in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict since the outbreak of the Second (or “Al-Aqsa”) Intifada in September 2000, during which more than 3,800 Palestinians and more than 1,000 Israelis have been killed. The conflict has followed an uneven pattern, with periods of high levels of realized violence and periods of […]
