Empirical investigation of disintegrations and nationalism

Abstract

This article empirically investigates the relationship between government size and country size for the new countries that gained independence between 1990 and 1993. The relationship between democracy and country size is also investigated. It is found that new independent states have higher public expenditures in gross domestic product and this may be a sign of inefficient use of public resources. However, political disintegrations do not necessarily deliver more civil liberties and political rights.

Notes

¹ Data on numbers of wars and civil liberties will be explained in the next sub-section.

² Maudos et al. (1999) explicitly analysed the effect of the process of progressive economic and political integration among the countries of Europe on their economic evolution, paying attention to gains in efficiency and productivity. In addition, Sharma and Chua (2000) stated that integration and trade in ASEAN countries increases with the size of the economy.