Bases bring fewer economic benefits than expected and can inhibit local growth.

Evidence

However, research about the economic effects of bases in Germany, the United States, and elsewhere consistently shows that the economic benefits of bases are less significant than one might expect. The benefits are enjoyed disproportionately by relatively few individuals and industries, and people tend to ignore a variety of costs associated with bases that significantly decrease their net economic impact. Moreover, bases are an inefficient form of economic investment; often, they actually inhibit more productive and profitable forms of economic activity. Okinawa, for example, remains Japan’s poorest prefecture. The causes of that poverty are complex, but the period of formal U.S. occupation of Okinawa that lasted until 1972 clearly inhibited economic growth. In recent years, as the base presence has declined, Okinawa’s economy has expanded and diversified around tourism, IT, call centers, and logistics. — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 915

Categorization

Category: Causal Relationships

• XREF: Directly supports and evidences the reader’s stated purpose about how bases harm America and the world — the economic-harm mechanism.

Related

• Self-contained bases now leak few dollars into local economies (similarity 0.92)
• Military bases provide weaker economic benefits than commonly assumed (similarity 0.91)
• Base closures have no significant or lasting regional economic impact (similarity 0.91)
• Base economies offer locals mostly low-wage jobs while higher-skilled positions go to Americans (similarity 0.91)
• Military occupation of land is a net economic loss for Okinawa (similarity 0.87)
• Repurposed bases in Okinawa produce far more economic value than the bases did (similarity 0.85)
• Self-contained military bases leak little of their spending into local economies. (similarity 0.84)
• Bases occupy valuable urban and beachfront land worldwide (similarity 0.83)
• Base closures rarely cause the catastrophic economic damage communities fear (similarity 0.83)
• Self-contained base amenities keep troop spending from reaching host economies. (similarity 0.83)
• Base closures show no measurable harm to surrounding community economies (similarity 0.82)
• The containment rationale for Okinawa bases now rests on weaker threats (similarity 0.82)
• Guantánamo Bay’s economic impact on Cuba is almost entirely negative (similarity 0.81)
• Bases served a grand strategy of global economic access without colonies. (similarity 0.81)
• Chinese and North Korean missiles make Okinawa bases militarily obsolete (similarity 0.81)