We’re never going to beat China with that kind of oversight!
Here is a Air Force head of contracting authority Maj. Gen. Cameron Holt discussing an interesting new proposal: [Line of Effort] 3 is called “owning […]
monopsony
Measuring the impact of unexpected inflation on DoD budgets, and other economic issues
Talking with Eric Torenberg, Noah Smith says “The Fed will not stick to any rules that it officially adopts.” (minute 32) “The Fed will always exercise […]
Markets rewarded defense industry consolidation and exit well before the “last supper”
Of course defense companies start consolidating after World War II, and then again in the 1970s after the Vietnam War. Many observers see industrial consolidation […]
To stop industrial consolidation, DoD must look in the mirror
During the Trump administration, several high-powered defense-related mergers and acquisitions occured. L3 Technologies merged with Harris, United Technologies acquired Rockwell Collins and then merged with […]
Podcast: How innovation really works with Anne Marie Knott
Anne Marie Knott joined me on the Acquisition Talk podcast to discuss her book How Innovation Really Works. She is a professor teaching strategy and […]
Will the military aviation industry get nationalized? A battle for the industry’s future
“If our industrial base collapses any more, we’ll have to nationalize advanced aviation and maybe other parts of the Air Force that currently are competitive,” […]
Has bargaining power flipped from government to contractor?
… the government paid for much of the industry’s equipment and physical plant, normally a private-sector responsibility. Thus, during the Korean War, taxpayers financed more […]
Podcast: James Hasik on the defense industry, intellectual property, the B-21, and more
Jim Hasik joined me on the Acquisition Talk podcast to discuss a wide range of topics. He was a former naval officer and long time […]
Monopsony, bailouts, and regulations — 3 problems of defense acquisition
In weapons systems acquisitions, however, there are three important differences in buyer-seller relationships: One, the buyer represents the only market, for the product and […]
Does the DOD have monopsony power in defense markets?
Although the DoD has great influence in the United States economy, it does not experience the pricing power that many expect in the markets for […]
I beseech you, Norm Augustine, to think it possible you be mistaken
Defense acquisition in the United States is quite unique. It is a monopsony that has monopolies embedded within it. People’s lives — even our nation’s […]
How political competition benefits procurement
This article asks if low political competition is associated with more restricted public procurement processes. Using unique Swedish municipal data from 2009 to 2015, it […]