Gancia, Gino A.Ponzetto, Giacomo A. M.Ventura, Jaume2022-07-062022-07-062022Gancia G, Ponzetto GAM, Ventura J. Globalization and political structure. Journal of the European Economic Association. 2022 Jun;20(3):1276-310. DOI: 10.1093/jeea/jvac0191542-4766http://hdl.handle.net/10230/53688Supplemental material files: online appendix; replication filesThis paper develops a theoretical framework to study the interaction between globalization and political structure. We show that political structure adapts in a non-monotonic way to declining transport costs. Borders hamper trade. At an earlier stage, the political response to expanding trade opportunities consists of removing borders by increasing country size. At a later stage, instead, it consists of removing the cost of borders by creating international unions. This leads to a reduction in country size. Moreover, diplomacy replaces conquest as a tool to ensure market access. These predictions are consistent with historical evidence on trade, territorial changes, and membership of international unions.application/pdfeng© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of European Economic Association. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.Globalització -- Aspectes políticsGlobalitzacióFronteresComerçinfo:eu-repo/semantics/articlehttp://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jeea/jvac019info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess