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Native American reservation constitutions

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  • R. Warren Anderson

    (University of Michigan-Dearborn)

Abstract

The Cherokees wrote a constitution in 1827; in contrast, the Yokuts tribe on the Santa Rosa Rancheria Reservation adopted theirs in 2014. As Native American tribal constitutions are common, I examine determinants of establishing these written constitutions. During their formation, some reservations had bands of the same tribe forced onto the same land. These reservations of forced coexistence wrote constitutions at an earlier date. More homogeneous, centralized tribes tended to adopt their constitutions at a later date, although this finding is less robust. The implication is that coordination costs were less than the benefits from constraining a potential rival band, and that social norms of centralization made having a written constitution less necessary. Additionally, a positive correlation is found between having a written constitution and economic output, similar to other studies.

Suggested Citation

  • R. Warren Anderson, 2016. "Native American reservation constitutions," Constitutional Political Economy, Springer, vol. 27(4), pages 377-398, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:copoec:v:27:y:2016:i:4:d:10.1007_s10602-016-9225-7
    DOI: 10.1007/s10602-016-9225-7
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Alvaro Montenegro, 1995. "Constitutional design and economic performance," Constitutional Political Economy, Springer, vol. 6(2), pages 161-169, June.
    2. Terry L. Anderson & Dominic P. Parker, 2008. "Sovereignty, Credible Commitments, and Economic Prosperity on American Indian Reservations," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 51(4), pages 641-666, November.
    3. James Buchanan, 1990. "The domain of constitutional economics," Constitutional Political Economy, Springer, vol. 1(1), pages 1-18, December.
    4. Lorenz Blume & Jens Müller & Stefan Voigt & Carsten Wolf, 2009. "The economic effects of constitutions: replicating—and extending—Persson and Tabellini," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 139(1), pages 197-225, April.
    5. Christian Bjørnskov & Stefan Voigt, 2014. "Constitutional verbosity and social trust," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 161(1), pages 91-112, October.
    6. Alexander Tabarrok, 1994. "A Survey, Critique, and New Defense of Term Limits," Cato Journal, Cato Journal, Cato Institute, vol. 14(2), pages 333-350, Fall.
    7. Christian Dippel, 2014. "Forced Coexistence and Economic Development: Evidence From Native American Reservations," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 82, pages 2131-2165, November.
    8. Cornell, Stephen & Kalt, Joseph P., 2000. "Where's the glue? Institutional and cultural foundations of American Indian economic development," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 29(5), pages 443-470.
    9. Voigt, Stefan, 2009. "Explaining constitutional garrulity," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(4), pages 290-303, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. T. Stratmann, 2024. "A reservation economic freedom index," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 199(3), pages 213-231, June.
    2. Ennio E. Piano & Louis Rouanet, 2024. "The calculus of american indian consent: the law and economics of tribal constitutions," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 199(3), pages 341-366, June.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Constitution; Reservation; Native American;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H10 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government - - - General
    • P48 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Other Economic Systems - - - Legal Institutions; Property Rights; Natural Resources; Energy; Environment; Regional Studies

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