Özet:

The impact of economic growth on military expenditures and the relationship between these two variables has been the subject of numerous studies for a long time. Especially with the end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the military expenditures of the countries that make up NATO have become more interesting. According to data compiled by the SIPRI, military expenditures in 2021 were $2.113 billion dollars. This number has increased since 1994. The relationship between military expenditures, economic growth and the country's population has been seriously studied by both policy makers and researchers in recent years. Military expenditures have both positive and negative contributions to the economy. Military expenditures, which have a significant share in public expenditures, can potentially stimulate growth. On the other hand, it is natural that increases in growth and population will also affect military expenditures. In the study, observations of Military Expenditures (ME), Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Population (POP) variables were collected for 25 years between 1997 and 2021 for 26 NATO countries and a balanced panel data set containing 650 observations was created. In the research, tests for cross-section dependence, unit root, ARDL, and error correction were conducted, respectively. Since it is seen that all of the variables are not stationary at the level and are integrated series at different degrees, it was decided to use the Panel ARDL model, which allows to examine the relationships between stationary variables of different orders, in the estimation of the research model. Evaluating the coefficients calculated for the ARDL model together, we can say that Country GDP values have positive effects on Country ME in the short and long run, while country population does not have a significant effect in the short run but has a positive effect in the long run.