The first principle of Economics is that every agent is actuated only by self-interest. The workings of this principle may be viewed under two aspects, according as the agent acts without, or with, the consent of others affected by his actions. In wide senses, the first species of action may be...

Conflict and war are typically viewed as the outcome of misperceptions, incomplete information, or even irrationality. We show that it can otherwise. Despite the short-run incentives to settle disputes peacefully , there can be long-term, compounding rewards to going to war when doing better...

Warlords complete for turf that provides them with rents and "taxable" resources while also providing a semblance of security within their respective territories. Because such competition takes place through the use of force or the threat of the use of force, more competition can lead to lower...

Existing work on the costs of insecure property has largely focused on the overexploitation problem of common pool resources. We investigate other costs of insecure resources - uncertainty costs, the absence of exchange, and enforcement costs - within a simple general equilibrium setting.

This article will employ an economic perspective in trying to understand the phenomenon of organized crime, its effects, and its quick emergence in areas with a power vacuum, including those of many transition economies.

In many economic environments agents make costly and irreversible investments that may enhance their respective threat payoffs but also shrink the utility possibilities set. In such settings, with variable threats and a variable utility possibilities set, it becomes possible to rank different...