National Integration and Institution Building

Zhou, Haiwen (2023): National Integration and Institution Building.

Abstract

The mutual dependence between national integration and institution building is established in a formal model. It is shown that a decrease in transportation costs, but not necessarily an increase in population size, reduces the equilibrium number of states and the adoption of rule-based institutions. With endogenous transportation costs or endogenous population size, the unification process can feed on itself. The model is illustrated by the state of Qin’s unification of China in 221 BC. During this process of national integration, transformations from relation-based governance to rule-based governance happened.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: National integration, institution building, China, rule-based governance, optimal size of nations
• Subjects: H - Public Economics > H5 - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies > H56 - National Security and War; N - Economic History > N4 - Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation > N45 - Asia including Middle East; R - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics > R4 - Transportation Economics > R40 - General

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