The federal government owns and administers 472, 892,659 acres or 21% of the land area of the lower US, making it both the country's largest land owner and among the largest by a central government among western democracies. This condition is surprising, given that the US generally is viewed as...

The federal government owns and administers 472, 892,659 acres or 21% of the land area of the lower US, making it both the country's largest land owner and among the largest by a central government among western democracies. This condition is surprising, given that the US generally is viewed as...

Inefficiencies in the bureaucratic organization of the state are often viewed as important factors in retarding economic development. Why certain societies choose or end up with such inefficient organizations has received very little attention, however. In this paper, we present a simple theory...