The Economic Origins of Government
American Economic Review
vol. 113,
no. 10, October 2023
(pp. 2507-45)
(Complimentary)
Abstract
We test between cooperative and extractive theories of the origins of government. We use river shifts in southern Iraq as a natural experiment, in a new archeological panel dataset. A shift away creates a local demand for a government to coordinate because private river irrigation needs to be replaced with public canals. It disincentivizes local extraction as land is no longer productive without irrigation. Consistent with a cooperative theory of government, a river shift away led to state formation, canal construction, and the payment of tribute. We argue that the first governments coordinated between extended households which implemented public good provision.Citation
Allen, Robert C., Mattia C. Bertazzini, and Leander Heldring. 2023. "The Economic Origins of Government." American Economic Review, 113 (10): 2507-45. DOI: 10.1257/aer.20201919Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- D72 Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
- H11 Structure, Scope, and Performance of Government
- H41 Public Goods
- N45 Economic History: Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation: Asia including Middle East
- N55 Economic History: Agriculture, Natural Resources, Environment, and Extractive Industries: Asia including Middle East
- Q15 Land Ownership and Tenure; Land Reform; Land Use; Irrigation; Agriculture and Environment