Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2025

DOI

10.1002/ise3.70023

Publication Title

International Studies of Economics

Volume

Advance online publication

Pages

8 pp.

Abstract

How geography affects the choice of institutions is studied in a theoretical model. In this model, nations are located around a circle. Rulers compete through choosing tax rates, the level of military spending, and the degree of formality of institutions. Geographic condition is captured by population density. It is shown that societies with higher population densities choose lower tax rates, establish more formal institutions, and give government officials lower levels of autonomies than those with lower population densities do. A higher level of external threats induces a ruler to choose a higher level of autonomy for officials. The model is illustrated by comparing institutions of agricultural and nomadic regimes in ancient China.

Rights

© 2025 The Authors.

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) License, which permits use, distribution and replication in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

ORCID

0000-0002-1929-3347 (Zhou)

Original Publication Citation

Zhou, H. (2025). Impact of geography on institutions in agricultural and nomadic societies. International Studies of Economics. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1002/ise3.70023

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