The Origins of Government and the State

Leander Heldring ()
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Leander Heldring: Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA

Annual Review of Economics, 2025, vol. 17, issue 1, 77-97

Abstract: In recent years, a vibrant literature has emerged that studies the first states in history, both as substantive topic of interest and as an important input into understanding modern government. This survey article presents, structures, and discusses recent advances in the theoretical and empirical study in the economics of the origins of government and the state. The core hypotheses in this literature view the nature of government as extractive or cooperative. I discuss how this fundamental dichotomy in the view of the state has influenced its study and review empirical contributions. The fundamental dichotomy is not resolved, leaving room for further research.

Keywords: state; government; cooperation; political economy; extraction (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D74 H10 N20 N40 O43 P16 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1146/annurev-economics-081224-064327

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