This paper overviews theoretical and empirical contributions that study political borders from an economic perspective. It reviews theories of the number and size of nations focused on the trade-off between economies of scale in public-good provision and heterogeneity of preferences over public...

Intro -- Contents -- List of Figures -- List of Tables -- Preface -- Part 1: Introduction -- 1. Leadership and Hegemony -- Part 2: Hegemony and Collective Goods -- 2. A Collective-Goods Model of International Interdependence -- 3. Stackelberg Leadership and Public Goods -- 4. Predatory Hegemony:...

This paper provides a comprehensive theoretical model of the political decision making process. Therein two ideologically different political parties compete for power. Their primary instrument in this competition are programmatic concessions in favor of voters and interest groups. As any...