Apply the approach used by Lewis and Goldin in measuring the cost of Essay

Apply the approach used by Lewis and Goldin in measuring the cost of the U.S. Civil War to evaluate the cost of some other war. In this you could deal with more a contemporary conflict - Essay Example The cost of the Civil War was measured by estimating two types of war cost that include the direct and indirect cost. The direct estimation involves the computation of the total actual expenses incurred by both sides. The indirect estimation alone could not be used to give an accurate cost of the war. Lewis and Goldin also used indirect estimation in order to overshadow the limitations of direct estimation. By using the indirect estimation, they assumed that the country would still incur some expenses in the absence of the war. The difference between the consumption stream in the absence of the war and the actual expenses is the indirect cost. The direct cost of the war to the north as estimated by Lewis and Goldin was 3,365,846 dollars (Lewis & Goldin 308), while the total indirect cost in this region for the natives was 49,950 dollars (Lewis & Goldin 317). Since the historical times, the US has been actively participating in the fight against terrorists. The contemporary US acts of war on terror include the US war in Afghanistan and Iraq. The US has been sending its troop to fight in Afghanistan and Iraq in order to eliminate terrorism. This is among the country’s strategy to end terrorism in other countries before the US is affected. The cost of this war could be computed using Lewis and Goldin method. It means that the both direct and indirect costs of the war on terror have to be calculated for the past decade. The direct costs would include the total government expenditure on the war. The indirect cost would be the cost incurred by the citizens because of the war on terror. According to researches, the direct cost of war on terror in Afghanistan and Iraq was about 4 trillion dollars (DeGraw 1). The total indirect cost includes the interest on the money was 1 trillion, the medical costs of the veteran which was 32 billion, t he foreign aid of about 74 billion dollars, pentagon spending of about 652 billion, security spending of about 401