An economic model for constitutional designs: from nation-states to an 'Olympic world system'

Paper


Gussen, Benjamen F.. 2016. "An economic model for constitutional designs: from nation-states to an 'Olympic world system'." 2016 Coase-Sandor Summer Institute in Law and Economics: Research Methods in Law and Economics . Chicago, Illinois 10 - 22 Jul 2016 Chicago, Illinois.
Paper/Presentation Title

An economic model for constitutional designs: from nation-states to an 'Olympic world system'

Presentation TypePaper
Authors
AuthorGussen, Benjamen F.
Number of Pages77
Year2016
Place of PublicationChicago, Illinois
Web Address (URL) of Paperhttp://www.law.uchicago.edu/files/file/bfg_colloquium_paper_coase_sandor_summer_20_may_2016_plain_text_marronbook.pdf
Conference/Event2016 Coase-Sandor Summer Institute in Law and Economics: Research Methods in Law and Economics
Event Details
2016 Coase-Sandor Summer Institute in Law and Economics: Research Methods in Law and Economics
Event Date
10 to end of 22 Jul 2016
Event Location
Chicago, Illinois
Abstract

Heartened by Aaron Director’s formation of a law-and-economics cluster at the University of Chicago, this paper proposes a new cluster that shares a post nation-state, city-centered, vision for constitutional organisation. To this end, the paper introduces an economic model to illustrate the role of polycentricity in the stability and prosperity of polities. The model is inspired by Tinbergen’s gravity model of international trade, and two-dimensional lattice models used in theoretical physics. The model suggests that constitutional constructs weave an evolutionary dialectic between different organisational scales (the local, national, and global). This dialectic continues to wreak havoc at the local scale, and can be interrupted only through explicit constitutional constraints on the size of ‘jurisdictional footprints’. Polycentricity is interpreted in the spirit of (non-contiguous) charter cities, and through the scholarship of Baruch Spinoza’s constitutional orders, as exemplified by the Dutch Republic (1581-1795). This rendition of sovereignty is imperative as much for countries facing the strife of civil war (including Libya, Yemen, Syria, Iraq, and the Ukraine) as it is for maturing economies. In a globalizing world that is more and more imbued with nation-state morbidity, there is a pressing need for a city-centric, ‘Olympic world system’. A Chicago cluster bringing together scholars such as Gerald Frug, Paul Romer, Benjamin Barber, Yishai Blank, and Saskia Sassen, could see this vision come to fruition.

Keywordspolycentricity, law-and-economics, subsidiarity, Spinoza, Chicago Law School
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020389999. Other economics not elsewhere classified
489999. Other law and legal studies not elsewhere classified
Public Notes

Part of author's Short ADOSP for 2016. Open access publisher.

Byline AffiliationsSchool of Law and Justice
Institution of OriginUniversity of Southern Queensland
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