Looking at the Integration of Nations through the Lens of the Merger of Populations: Preliminary Superadditivity and Impossibility Results

Stark, Oded (2010): Looking at the Integration of Nations through the Lens of the Merger of Populations: Preliminary Superadditivity and Impossibility Results. Published in: Swiss Journal of Economics and Statistics , Vol. 146, No. 4 (2010): pp. 661-675.

Abstract

This paper looks at the integration of regions and nations through the prism of the merger of populations. The paper employs a particular index of social dismay. It presents examples of two of the main results arising from the study of the merger of two populations: that the social dismay of an integrated population is greater than the sum of the social dismay of the constituent populations when apart, and that a self-contained, non-publicly financed policy aimed at retaining the levels of wellbeing of individuals at their pre-merger magnitudes cannot be implemented: there is not enough of a gain to compensate for the loss.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Integration of regions and nations; Merging populations; Social dismay; Policy response
• Subjects: D - Microeconomics > D6 - Welfare Economics > D63 - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement; P - Economic Systems > P5 - Comparative Economic Systems > P51 - Comparative Analysis of Economic Systems; D - Microeconomics > D0 - General > D02 - Institutions: Design, Formation, Operations, and Impact

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