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The Birth, Adjustment and Death of States

Author

Listed:
  • Kjell Hausken

    (School of Economics, Culture, Social Sciences, University of Stavanger)

  • John F. Knutsen

    (Knutsen & Didriksen as)

Abstract

The article proposes Erection, Adjustment, and Death mechanisms for governmental units, giving autonomy to each citizen as in a direct democracy. Rather than focusing on a narrow model with restrictive and specialized assumptions, and subsequent solutions, as has been common in the literature, the article takes citizens seriously acknowledging that they are best equipped to find their own solutions. The emphasis is on the practical approach of how citizens discover and implement their subjective preferences. Governmental units are subjected to some of the same market forces as ordinary firms, in the spirit of Coase (1988). This brings the interaction between governmental units closer to a market structure, and serves to eliminate or reduce many of the coercive elements of government.

Suggested Citation

  • Kjell Hausken & John F. Knutsen, 2002. "The Birth, Adjustment and Death of States," Public Economics 0205004, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:wpa:wuwppe:0205004
    Note: Type of Document - pdf; prepared on pc; to print on PostScript; pages: 20
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    File URL: https://econwpa.ub.uni-muenchen.de/econ-wp/pe/papers/0205/0205004.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Hausken, Kjell & Knutsen, John F., 2010. "An enabling mechanism for the creation, adjustment, and dissolution of states and governmental units," Economics - The Open-Access, Open-Assessment E-Journal (2007-2020), Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel), vol. 4, pages 1-38.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Territorial units; individual liberty; individual decision making; individual welfare; competitive markets; public choice; constitutional economics; political economy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H4 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods
    • H5 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies
    • H11 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government - - - Structure and Scope of Government

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