Government, clubs, and constitutions

Peter Leeson

Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 2011, vol. 80, issue 2, 301-308

Abstract: This paper analyzes “constitutional effectiveness” – the degree to which constitutions can be enforced – in the system of government vs. the system of clubs. I argue that clubs have residual claimants on revenues generated through constitutional compliance, operate in a highly competitive environment, and permit individuals to sort themselves according to their governance needs. These features make their constitutional contracts self-enforcing. Government lacks these features. So its constitutional contract is not. Institutional augmentations that make government more club-like, such as federalism, democracy, and limited government scope, improve government's constitutional effectiveness. But constitutional effectiveness remains superior in the system of clubs.

Keywords: Buchanan; Government; Clubs; Constitution (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D7 K0 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (53)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:80:y:2011:i:2:p:301-308

DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2011.05.006

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