THE BREAKUP OF NATIONS - A POLITICAL-ECONOMY ANALYSIS

This paper develops a model of the breakup or unification of nations. in each nation the decision to separate is taken by majority voting. A basic trade-off between the efficiency gains of unification and the c osts in terms of loss of control on political decisions is highlighted . The model emphasizes political conflicts over redistribution policie s. The main results of the paper are i) when income distributions vary across regions and the efficiency gains from unification are small, s eparation occurs in equilibrium; and ii) when all factors of productio n are perfectly mobile, all incentives for separation disappear.