政府与国家的起源
The Origins of Government and the State
Annual Review of Economics · 2025 · [{"name": "Leander Heldring", "affiliation": ["Northwestern University", "Kellogg's (Canada)"]}]
中文摘要
近年来, 一支活跃的文献兴起, 研究历史上最早的国家, 既将其作为具有实质意义的研究主题, 也将其作为理解现代政府的重要素材。本综述文章呈现、梳理并讨论了关于政府与国家起源经济学在理论与实证研究方面的最新进展。该文献的核心假说将政府的性质视为攫取性的或合作性的。我讨论了这一关于国家的根本二分法如何影响了相关研究, 并回顾了实证贡献。这一根本二分法尚未得到解决, 从而为进一步研究留下了空间。
Abstract
In recent years, a vibrant literature has emerged that studies the first states in history, both as substantive topic of interest and as an important input into understanding modern government. This survey article presents, structures, and discusses recent advances in the theoretical and empirical study in the economics of the origins of government and the state. The core hypotheses in this literature view the nature of government as extractive or cooperative. I discuss how this fundamental dichotomy in the view of the state has influenced its study and review empirical contributions. The fundamental dichotomy is not resolved, leaving room for further research.