TY  - JOUR
AU  - Grossman,Herschel I.
AU  - Mendoza,Juan
TI  - Annexation or Conquest?  The Economics of Empire Building
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 8109
PY  - 2001
Y2  - February 2001
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w8109
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w8109.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Herschel Grossman
Department of Economics
Box B
Brown University
Providence, RI  02912
Tel: 401/863-2606
Fax: 401/863-1970

Juan Mendoza
University at Buffalo
E-Mail: mendozaj@acsu.buffalo.edu
AB  - This paper develops an economic theory of empire building. This theory addresses the choice among three strategies that empire builders historically have used. We call these strategies Uncoerced Annexation, Coerced Annexation, and Attempted Conquest. The theory shows how the choice among these strategies depends on such factors as the economic gains from imperial expansion, the relative effectiveness of imperial armies, the costs of projecting imperial military power, and liquidity constraints on financing imperial armies. This theory also addresses the scope of imperial ambitions. The paper uses examples from the history of the Roman, Mongol, Ottoman, and Nazi German empires to illustrate the applicability of the theory.
ER  -