The size of nations

MIT Press, 2005 - Business & Economics - 261 pages

Received Honorable Mention in the category of Economics in the 2003 Professional/Scholarly Publishing Annual Awards Competition presented by the Association of American Publishers, Inc.

The authors of this timely and provocative book use the tools of economic analysis to examine the formation and change of political borders. They argue that while these issues have always been at the core of historical analysis, international economists have tended to regard the size of a country as "exogenous," or no more subject to explanation than the location of a mountain range or the course of a river. Alesina and Spolaore consider a country's borders to be subject to the same analysis as any other man-made institution. In The Size of Nations, they argue that the optimal size of a country is determined by a cost-benefit trade-off between the benefits of size and the costs of heterogeneity. In a large country, per capita costs may be low, but the heterogeneous preferences of a large population make it hard to deliver services and formulate policy. Smaller countries may find it easier to respond to citizen preferences in a democratic way.

Alesina and Spolaore substantiate their analysis with simple analytical models that show how the patterns of globalization, international conflict, and democratization of the last two hundred years can explain patterns of state formation. Their aim is not only "normative" but also "positive"—that is, not only to compute the optimal size of a state in theory but also to explain the phenomenon of country size in reality. They argue that the complexity of real world conditions does not preclude a systematic analysis, and that such an analysis, synthesizing economics, political science, and history, can help us understand real world events.

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Introduction

Overlapping Jurisdictions and the State	15

Voting on Borders	29

Transfers	51

Leviathans and the Size of Nations	67

Openness Economic Integration and the Size of Nations	79

Conflict and the Size of Nations	93

War Peace and the Size of Nations	109

Size and Economic Performance	153

The Size of Nations A Historical Overview	173

The European Union	201

Conclusions	215

Notes	223

References	239

Index	253

Copyright

Federalism and Decentralization	135

Other editions - View all

The Size of Nations

Alberto Alesina,Enrico Spolaore
No preview available - 2003

Common terms and phrases

A-stable Alesina analysis areas assume autarky average utility B-jurisdictions bargain benefits breakup central government chapter citizens city-states coalition-proof Coase theorem configuration of borders configuration of countries constraint correlation coun countries of equal country's currency deadweight losses decentralization defense per capita defense spending democratic discussion distance distribution economic integration economies of scale effect efficient empires endogenous equation equilibrium number Europe European Union example external federal Federalist paper fiscal fiscal federalism formation free trade given growth heterogeneity costs heterogeneity of preferences higher implies income increase independent individuals interaction international conflict issue large countries larger Leviathan located maximize median voter military Nash equilibrium nomic number of countries openness optimal number overlapping jurisdictions policies political borders population proposition protectionist redistributive reduce regions relatively result secession share small countries smaller Soviet Union Spolaore supranational tion trade-off unification United variables voting equilibrium Wacziarg welfare world of Leviathans

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References from web pages

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The Size of Nations - The MIT Press
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National Borders and the Size of Nations
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Scoop: Roger Kerr Speech - The Size Of Nations
From time to time people question whether New Zealand’s small size and geographical remoteness hold back its economic performance
www.scoop.co.nz/ stories/ BU0502/ S00021.htm

Blackwell Synergy - Economic Record, Volume 82 Issue 257 Page 225 ...
The Size of Nations by Alberto Alesina and Enrico Spolaore Economic Record 82 (257), 225–226. doi:10.1111/j.1475-4932.2006.00317.x ...
www.blackwell-synergy.com/ doi/ abs/ 10.1111/ j.1475-4932.2006.00317.x

The Size of Nations | The Weatherhead Center for International Affairs
In The Size of Nations they argue that the optimal size of a country is determined by a cost-benefit trade-off between the benefits of size and the costs of ...
www.wcfia.harvard.edu/ node/ 1464

The Size of Nations
POLITICAL THEORY. Deliberation Day. By Bruce Ackerman and James S. Fishkin. New. Haven: Yale University Press, 2004. 288p. $30.00. ...
journals.cambridge.org/ production/ action/ cjoGetFulltext?fulltextid=266354

About the author (2005)

Enrico Spolaore is is Professor of Economics at Tufts University.

Bibliographic information

Title	The size of nations Economics / political science
Author	Alberto Alesina
Editor	Enrico Spolaore
Edition	illustrated, reprint
Publisher	MIT Press, 2005
ISBN	0262261405, 9780262261401
Length	261 pages
Subjects	Business & Economics › Economics › General Business & Economics / Economics / General Political Science / General

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