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Full-Text Articles in Jurisprudence
The Number Of States And The Economics Of American Federalism, Steven G. Calabresi, Nicholas K. Terrell
The Number Of States And The Economics Of American Federalism, Steven G. Calabresi, Nicholas K. Terrell
Faculty Working Papers
In 1789 it was possible to speak of a federation of distinct States joined together for their mutual advantage, but today it is rather the Nation that is divided into subnational units. What caused this shift in focus from the States to the Federal Government? Surely the transformation from a collection of thirteen historically separate States clustered along the Atlantic seaboard to a group of fifty States largely carved out of Federal territory has played a role. Building on previous analysis of the economics of federalism, this essay considers the dynamic effects of increasing the number of states on the …