Journal article
State capacity and economic growth: cautionary tales from history
- Abstract:
- This paper uses economic history to probe the relationship between state capacity and economic growth during the Great and Little Divergences (c.1500–c.1850). It identifies flaws in the dominant measure of state capacity, fiscal capacity, and advocates instead analysing state expenditures. It investigates five key activities on which states historically spent resources: waging war; providing law and administration; building infrastructure; pursuing industrial policy; and fostering a national culture. The lesson of history, it concludes, is not to build a capacious state. Rather, we need a state that uses its capacity to help (or at least not hinder) market activity.
- Publication status:
- Published
- Peer review status:
- Peer reviewed
Actions
Access Document
- Files:
-
-
(Preview, Accepted manuscript, pdf, 451.7KB, Terms of use)
-
- Publisher copy:
- 10.1017/nie.2022.42
Authors
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
- Journal:
- National Institute Economic Review More from this journal
- Volume:
- 262
- Pages:
- 28-50
- Publication date:
- 2023-02-21
- Acceptance date:
- 2022-12-14
- DOI:
- EISSN:
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1741-3036
- ISSN:
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0027-9501
- Language:
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English
- Pubs id:
-
1334869
- Local pid:
-
pubs:1334869
- Deposit date:
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2025-10-01
- ARK identifier:
Terms of use
- Copyright holder:
- Sheilagh Ogilvie
- Copyright date:
- 2023
- Rights statement:
- © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of National Institute Economic Review.
- Notes:
- This is the accepted manuscript version of the article. The final version is available online from Cambridge University Press at https://dx.doi.org/10.1017/nie.2022.42
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