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The Supply Side Determinants of Territory and Conflict

Author

Listed:
  • Jordan Adamson

    (Smith Institute for Political Economy and Philosophy, Chapman University)

  • Erik O. Kimbrough

    (Smith Institute for Political Economy and Philosophy, Chapman University, and Department of Economics, Simon Fraser University)

Abstract

What determines the geographic extent of territory? We microfound and extend Boulding’s “Loss of Strength Gradient” to predict the extensive and intensive margins of conflict across space. We show how economies of scale in the production of violence and varying costs of projecting violence at a distance combine to affect the geographic distribution of conflict and territory. We test and probe the boundaries of this model in an experiment varying the fixed costs of conflict entry. As predicted, higher fixed costs increase the probability of exclusive territories; median behavior closely tracks equilibrium predictions in all treatments.

Suggested Citation

  • Jordan Adamson & Erik O. Kimbrough, 2018. "The Supply Side Determinants of Territory and Conflict," Working Papers 18-10, Chapman University, Economic Science Institute.
    • Handle: RePEc:chu:wpaper:18-10
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    File URL: https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/esi_working_papers/248/
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    conflict; territory; experiments;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D74 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Conflict; Conflict Resolution; Alliances; Revolutions
    • C9 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments
    • P48 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Other Economic Systems - - - Legal Institutions; Property Rights; Natural Resources; Energy; Environment; Regional Studies

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