The origins of governments: from anarchy to hierarchy

Journal of Institutional Economics • Vol/Iss. 6 • Published In • Pages: 215-242 •
By Baker, Matthew, Blute, Erwin, Weisdorf, Jacob

Hypothesis

Presence of hierarchy is positively associated with technology, population density and storage (236).

Test

Test NameSupportSignificanceCoefficientTail
multiple regressionUNKNOWNp<.01UNKNOWNUNKNOWN

Variables

Variable NameVariable Type OCM Term(s)
Food StorageIndependentPreservation And Storage Of Food
Population DensityIndependentPopulation
TechnologyIndependentAgriculture, Internal Trade, Writing
Territorial Hierarchy About The Community LevelDependentTerritorial Hierarchy

Related Hypotheses

Main AuthorHypothesis
Reeves, Edward B.Population density, political hierarchy, economic division of labor, and monetary exchange will be positively associated with the universalization of ritual (118).
Lobo, JoséIn cases where storable resources and storage technology provide a sustainable energetic return and sociocultural institutions reduce the social stress between neighbors, the scaling exponent will decrease and approach the value of two-thirds.
Adler, Michael A.The communal tenure of agricultural fields is less likely to occur once population densities reach a certain threshold, no matter what level of agricultural technology, crop, or productive organization (118).
Romanoff, Steven"Cassava will be more important where there are fewer food-getting strategies (less of a mix of subsistence strategies, wage labor, cash crops, government supplies, etc.); in turn food diversity will be positively associated with such cultural ecological variables as markets, access to markets, population density, and more elaborate technology" (p.101).
Baunach, Dawn MichelleEcological factors of complexity (population, technology and agriculture, social organization) will be positively correlated with gender inequality for both adults and children (64).