The Prevalence of Anarchy

This paper develops a theoretical model that is consistent with the observed prevalence of anarchy. In this model appropriative competition and the production of consumables are alternative uses of time and effort. Agents in anarchic systems allocate a fraction of their time and effort to appropriative competition that turns out to be an increasing concave function of the three parameters: the decisiveness parameter in the appropriative competition, the scale of the anarchic system, and the relative importance in production of resources that are subject to appropriative competition. The main finding is that, as long as adequate consumption is either small or, at least, not too large relative to potential consumption, agents in anarchic systems are unlikely to allocate a large enough fraction of their time and effort to appropriative competition as to make anarchy unviable.