On the Number and Size of Nations
Abstract
This paper studies the equilibrium determination of the number of countries in different political regimes, and in different economic environments, with more or less economic integration. We focus on the trade-off between the benefits of large jurisdictions and the costs of heterogeneity of large and diverse populations. Our model implies that (i) democratization leads to secessions; (ii) in equilibrium one generally observes an inefficiently large number of countries; (iii) the equilibrium number of countries is increasing in the amount of economic integration.
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Conflict from ethnic diversity results in low incomes, low levels of schooling, and insufficient infrastructure.
“First, ethnic diversity creates more conflict in society, which results in low incomes, low levels of schooling, and insufficient infrastructure (Alesina and Rodrik 1994;Alesina and Spolaore 1997;Easterly and Levine 1997).”
From Diversity Matters in the World of Finance: Does Ethnic and Religious Diversity Hinder Financial Development in Developing Countries? (2025) · cites this paper as Alesina and Spolaore 1997
Ethnic diversity creates more conflict in society.
“First, ethnic diversity creates more conflict in society, which results in low incomes, low levels of schooling, and insufficient infrastructure (Alesina and Rodrik 1994;Alesina and Spolaore 1997;Easterly and Levine 1997).”
From Diversity Matters in the World of Finance: Does Ethnic and Religious Diversity Hinder Financial Development in Developing Countries? (2025) · cites this paper as Alesina and Spolaore 1997
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- Authors
- Alesina, A., & Spolaore, E.
- Affiliations
- Center for Economic and Policy Research (US)
- Boston College (US)
- Venue
- The Quarterly Journal of Economics
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 1997-11-01
- Volume
- 112
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 1027-1056
- ISSN
- 0033-5533 (ISSN-L)
- 1531-4650
- OpenAlex
- W2149899514
- Cited by
- 1,416
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 20 · 2025: 43 · 2024: 24 · 2023: 26 · 2022: 54 · 2021: 32 · 2020: 76 · 2019: 40 · 2018: 75 · 2017: 46 · 2016: 54 · 2015: 58 · 2014: 43 · 2013: 51 · 2012: 56
- FWCI
- 61.38
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- The Quarterly Journal of Economics (publishedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- HighWire Press Open Archive (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › Game Theory and Voting Systems
- Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Political Systems and Governance
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Political Conflict and Governance
- Keywords
- political regimes, democratization, secession, economic integration, population heterogeneity
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