The Economics of Nation-Building: Methodological Tool Kit and Policy Lessons

Dominic Rohner and Ekaterina Zhuravskaya ()
Additional contact information
Dominic Rohner: UNIL - Université de Lausanne = University of Lausanne, Graduate Institute Geneva, CEPR - Center for Economic Policy Research
Ekaterina Zhuravskaya: PSE - Paris School of Economics - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement - ENPC - École nationale des ponts et chaussées - IP Paris - Institut Polytechnique de Paris, PJSE - Paris Jourdan Sciences Economiques - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement - ENPC - École nationale des ponts et chaussées - IP Paris - Institut Polytechnique de Paris, CEPR - Center for Economic Policy Research

Post-Print from HAL

Abstract: This article reviews the recent burgeoning political economics research on nation-building. We focus on three main aspects of this body of work. First, we discuss methodological issues related to measuring nation-building outcomes and provide a synthesis of studies that employ different techniques, such as surveys on identity, lab-in-the-field methods, and direct observation of actions signaling identity. Second, we explore preconditions for effective nation-building, particularly focusing on ethnolinguistic polarization and segregation, and discuss how these factors may influence policy choices and their effectiveness. We also consider geopolitical factors. Finally, we review advances in the literature evaluating the effects of major nation-building policies, including those that encourage intergroup contact, the choice of national education curricula, propaganda, leadership, decentralization, and foreign interventions. We highlight instances in which these policies work or backfire.

Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Published in Annual Review of Economics, inPress, ⟨10.1146/annurev-economics-081224-103104⟩

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-05168992

DOI: 10.1146/annurev-economics-081224-103104

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Post-Print from HAL
Bibliographic data for series maintained by CCSD ().