The Economic Approach to Political Borders

Enrico Spolaore

No 10165, CESifo Working Paper Series from CESifo

Abstract: This paper overviews theoretical and empirical contributions that study political borders from an economic perspective. It reviews theories of the number and size of nations focused on the trade-off between economies of scale in public-good provision and heterogeneity of preferences over public policies as well as on the factors affecting this trade-off, such as democratization, international openness, and conflict. It also reviews studies of political integration and disintegration that focus on economic inequality, redistribution policies, and the geographical distribution of resources. Finally, the paper discusses recent empirical studies that shed light on the relations among heterogeneity, conflict, and borders. This line of research is part of a growing literature on the interplay between cultural variables and economic and political outcomes.

Keywords: borders; economies of scale; public goods; federalism; decentralization; ethnicity; culture; conflict (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D70 D74 F50 F55 H10 H40 H77 N40 P00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-int
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Working Paper: The Economic Approach to Political Borders (2022)
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