Aniruddha Bagchi and Jomon Aliyas Paul
Optimal Allocation of Resources in Airport Security: Profiling vs. Screening Operations Research Vol. 62, Issue 2 (March) 2014, pp. 219-233
A major area of research in recent times has been the design of smart policies to counter terrorism. While governments in developed countries have been by and large successful in thwarting terrorist attacks, it has come at an enormous cost. These resources could alternatively have been used for productive purposes, such as in education or in building infrastructure. Therefore, it is imperative that the growth of expenditure on security be evaluated before it affects the long-term growth of the economy. This study examines this issue in the context of airport security. The focus is on two important (but related) research issues: determination of the socially optimal level of security and optimal allocation of resources between profiling and screening, given a chosen level of security. One striking result is that under certain circumstances, enhanced screening may induce terrorists to plan better so that attacks will be less frequent but more violent. Another interesting implication is that the expenditure on espionage is more valuable to a developed economy than to a developing economy. It is also shown that a program such as Pre-Check can be used to cushion the adverse effect of budgetary shortages. Finally, the findings indicate that a process innovation that reduces the cost of enhanced screening can cause the optimal investment in espionage to go either way.
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