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Changing production paradigms and industrial policy: United States military production in the Caribbean
Abstract
This dissertation offers an economic analysis of militarization in the Caribbean through an examination of United States Department of Defense contract awards. The industrial component of the militarization process--that which the U.S. Military Industry is producing in and buying from the region--is analyzed in detail in order to demonstrate that Caribbean economies have been integrated into the international division of labor of the United States Military Industry. The industrial component is analyzed as part of a restructuring brought about by the effect of changing production paradigms on the U.S. Military Industry's structure. My research demonstrated that: (1) there are spatial patterns in the division of labor which concentrate certain functions (research and development, services, construction, and supply and equipment) and industries (apparel, electronics, pharmaceutical, scientific instruments, etc.) in the Caribbean; (2) that there is a direct relationship between countries which are host to U.S. military installations and facilities or which are undergoing U.S. military escalation, and the allocation of DOD contract awards; and (3) that the structural dependence of the U.S. Military Industry on the mass production paradigm has led it to expand maquiladora activity in the Caribbean region as the network of DOD suppliers within the United States has contracted. The militarization of the Caribbean constitutes an implicit industrial policy which brings the following benefits to the United States Military Industry: (1) nearby regional industrial capacity and enhanced geopolitical protection of United States military production; (2) offshore production at alternative sites which will decrease dependency on Far East producers; (3) integration of civilian and military production which will serve to absorb cyclical demand within some industries and will improve the United States' competitive position within the advantages offered by the CBI; and (4) enhanced geopolitical protection of United States interests and facilities in the Caribbean.
Subject Area
Economics|Commerce-Business|Economic history
Recommended Citation
Aponte-Garcia, Maribel, "Changing production paradigms and industrial policy: United States military production in the Caribbean" (1991). Doctoral Dissertations Available from Proquest. AAI9132809.
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations/AAI9132809