The Size of Countries: Does It Matter?
讨论国家规模的决定因素、对经济成功的影响，以及欧盟等超国家联盟兴起背景下国界含义的演变。
Borders are a man-made institution, and as such their shape cannot be taken as part of the physical landscape. The size of countries is endogenous to politico-economic forces. This paper discusses recent efforts by economists to study three related questions: What determines the evolution of the size of countries? Does size matter for economic success? Given the trend toward decentralization and of creation of supernational unions such as the EU, is the meaning of national borders evolving?