The constitutional review of the debt brake may have not yet passed, as tomorrow’s (21.3.25) vote is pending in its federal inter-state council GermanyBundesrat, but the public dialogue has begun on how the € 400 billion package will be distributed (based on forecasts on the budget) voted by the Bundestag to strengthen defense last Tuesday, March 18th, to strengthen defense.
According to a study, IFO’s hiring more volunteers with higher wages in Germany’s armed forces would be more efficient (for budget) than returning to compulsory military service. “The Bundeswehr (that is, the federal army of Germany) could meet its needs for staff with new militants. However, it would be more efficient to make military service more attractive by offering higher wages, “says IFO researcher Panu Poutvaara.
The reinstatement of the suspended compulsory military service could increase the number of 195,000 active soldiers. At the same time, this would result in state spending of approximately € 3.2 billion and a financial cost of € 17.1 billion a year. With higher salaries of military service at the private sector, government spending would be higher (€ 7.7 billion), but the financial costs would be significantly lower (€ 9.4 billion).
With the compulsory military service, a significantly higher proportion of young people would be available in the labor market only later. Consequently, they could begin to create human capital and assets later. This implies financial costs. The additional state expenditure results from the monthly net salary of 6,000 euros for 12 months. This accounts for about 42% of the standard market salary used to market the market.
The calculations are based on the assumption that one quarter of an age group will be called upon when compulsory military service is returned. This was the case with the old system. At a higher ranking rate, the cost would increase at the respective rate. This also applies to the calculation of the costs for voluntary military service.