The Economics of the Frontier
Conquest and Settlement

Authors: Ronald Findlay, Mats Lundahl



Develops a theoretical foundation for the optimal extension of empire

Applies neoclassical general equilibrium theory to a series of historical episodes which all define or change a frontier

Contains a survey of the most relevant conceptual and theoretical issues in the literature about frontiers

This book deals with the economics of establishing a frontier by conquest or by peaceful settlement, the costs involved, and the optimum extension of the territory. The opening chapters discuss the most relevant literature about frontiers – conceptual, theoretical and empirical – and introduce the fundamental theoretical model for extending frontiers which is drawn on throughout the book. The authors use this theoretical apparatus by applying it to a number of historical cases. These include the division of the European territory between the Byzantine Empire, Islam and Western Europe, the creation and expansion of the Mongol Empire, the impact of the Black Death, the European discovery of the New World, the staples trade from 1870–1914, and the rise and fall of banditry in Brazil.

The Economics of the Frontier brings together a collection of essays which explore how economically optimal frontiers were founded from sixth-century Europe through to twentieth-century Brazil.

Table of contents

Front Matter
Pages i-xiv

Introduction: Frontiers and Empires
Pages 1-26

Frontiers and Empires in Historical Perspective
Pages 27-94

Modeling Global Interdependence: Centers, Peripheries and Frontiers
Pages 95-104

Towards a Model of Territorial Expansion and the Limits of Empire
Pages 105-124

Demographic Shocks and the Factor Proportions Model: From the Plague of Justinian to the Black Death
Pages 125-172

The First Globalization Episode: The Creation of the Mongol Empire, or the Economics of Chinggis Khan
Pages 173-221

Towards a Factor Proportions Approach to Economic History: Population, Precious Metals and Prices from the Black Death to the Price Revolution
Pages 223-260

International Trade and Factor Mobility with an Endogenous Land Frontier: Some General Equilibrium Implications of Christopher Columbus
Pages 261-281

Natural Resources, ‘Vent-for-Surplus’ and the Staples Theory
Pages 283-314

Resource-Led Growth—A Long-Term Perspective: The Relevance of the 1870–1914 Experience for Today’s Developing Economies
Pages 315-366

Lampião and the Colonels: On the Political Economy of Banditry
Pages 367-415

Back Matter
Pages 417-448