Historical Government : Origins, Evolution and Varieties

Leander Heldring

This chapter reviews the origins, evolution, and modern forms of government, and proposes a research agenda. It contends that rather than being a homogeneous form of patrimonialism, early government was diverse and, at times, fostered order and prosperity. Its subsequent development did not follow an 'evolutionary' path to rational-legal government but was characterized by innovation and frequent collapse. Successful modern states do not all look alike, but follow several different models, as historical states have done

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Year of publication:	October 2025
Authors:	Heldring, Leander
Institutions:	National Bureau of Economic Research (issuing body)
Publisher:	Cambridge, Mass : National Bureau of Economic Research
Subject:	Regierung \| Government \| Politisches System \| Political system \| Öffentliche Dienstleistung \| Public services \| Öffentlicher Sektor \| Public sector \| Geschichte \| History \| Entwicklung \| Economic development \| Evolutionsökonomik \| Evolutionary economics

Extent:	1 Online-Ressource illustrations (black and white)
Series:	NBER working paper series ; no. w34370
Type of publication:	Book / Working Paper
Type of publication (narrower categories):	Arbeitspapier ; Working Paper ; Graue Literatur ; Non-commercial literature
Language:	English
Notes:	Hardcopy version available to institutional subscribers
Other identifiers:	10.3386/w34370 [DOI]
Classification:	D74 - Conflict; Conflict Resolution; Alliances ; H10 - Structure and Scope of Government. General ; N20 - Financial Markets and Institutions. General, International, or Comparative ; N40 - Government, War, Law, and Regulation. General, International, or Comparative ; O43 - Institutions and Growth ; P16 - Political Economy
Source:	ECONIS - Online Catalogue of the ZBW

Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10015508516