384 Revista del Instituto Español de Estudios Estratégicos Núm. 1 / 2013 In the next section, we shall deal with the different definitions of defence expenditure and continue in the third part with the quantification that the different institutions carry out for the Spanish case. The article ends with the main conclusions that we have arrived at in this piece of research. 2.- Definitions and concepts International comparisons of defence costs are difficult due mainly to a wide range of factors which combine the aspects linked with the definition itself of defence expenditure with more technical ideas relating to prices, exchange rates, etc. In the 1980s, Ball (1984) carried out an in-depth study of the defence budgets of a set of developing countries with the objective of making comparisons between them. He observed the added difficulties that continuous changes of definition of the factors that are included and excluded involve. Subsequently, Brzoska (1995), made a compilation of the factors which affect the definition of defence expenditure using the main international statistics, particularly those relating to NATO, the United Nations and the International Monetary Fund. He devoted much effort to the aspects relative to homogenisation of national statistics on the part of the above-mentioned organisations, particularly the consistency through time of the data together with the different deflators used and international comparisons, setting out the modifications that are observed according to the rate of exchange used. Along similar lines, but also dealing with the Colombian national budget, the Ministry of Defence of the country undertook a wide-ranging piece of work which reflected the definitions of a range of international sources. Likewise, it contributed its own definition in order to work out the Colombian defence and security expenditure -MDN (2009)-. In the work, there is a distinction made between two kinds of sources “which each have their own independent methodology and which additionally are responsible for collecting information through consultations made to primary sources; they each have a definition of the concept of expense and publish historical series for several countries” –pp. 15-. The following are included among this group: NATO, IMF, UN and CEPAL (Economic Commission for Latin America). And, those that he calls collecting bodies, “(SIPRI, IISS – The Military Balance, VCI-DoS-ACDA, the World Bank and the CIA - The World Factbook) which adopt a conceptual definition not interchangeable nor do they respond to the same reality. For this reason, the necessary materials, training, infrastructure, etc. and the general activity of defence and security have a differentiated treatment, just like what is related to the economic and budgetary definition. See BRZOSKA, M. “World military expenditures”, in Hartley, K. and Sandler, T. Handbook of Defense Economics, vol. 1. Elsevier, 1995, pp.45-67 and BALDWIN, A. “The concept of security”, Review of International Studies, vol. 23, nº 1, 1997, pp. 5-26.
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