Better Off Stateless

Fred Sautet blogs today on Somalia. I have recently written a paper entitled, "Better Off Stateless: Somalia Before and After Government Collapse," on Somalia's stateless economy. I use an event study to examine Somali welfare before and after anarchy emerged. When a state is predatory enough, it can drive social welfare below that level attainable without any government at all. Such was the case in Somalia. I comprehensively examine all indicators of Somali development for which data are available pre- and post-statelessness. On nearly all indicators, Somalis are better off today than they were 15 years ago under government. The evidence suggests anarchy has been welfare-enhancing for Somali citizens.