Discussion paper

DP5350 Size Really Doesn't Matter: In Search of a National Scale Effect

I search for a 'scale' effect in countries. I use a panel data set that includes 200 countries over forty years and link the population of a country to a host of economic and social phenomena. Using both graphical and statistical techniques, I search for an impact of size on the level of income, inflation, material well-being, health, education, the quality of a country's institutions, heterogeneity, and a number of different international indices and rankings. I have little success; small countries are more open to international trade than large countries, but are not systematically different otherwise.

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Citation

Rose, A (2005), ‘DP5350 Size Really Doesn't Matter: In Search of a National Scale Effect‘, CEPR Discussion Paper No. 5350. CEPR Press, Paris & London. https://cepr.org/publications/dp5350