Allen, R.C., Bertazzini, M.C. and Heldring, L.  <br/><br/>
The economic origins of government 

 - The American Economic Review   
 - 113(10), Oct, 2023: p.2507-2545 
<br/><br/> We test between cooperative and extractive theories of the origins of government. We use river shifts in southern Iraq as a natural experiment, in a new archeological panel dataset. A shift away creates a local demand for a government to coordinate because private river irrigation needs to be replaced with public canals. It disincentivizes local extraction as land is no longer productive without irrigation. Consistent with a cooperative theory of government, a river shift away led to state formation, canal construction, and the payment of tribute. We argue that the first governments coordinated between extended households which implemented public good provision. – Reproduced <br/><br/>https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/aer.20201919<br/>