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Lorenzo Warby's avatar

It is a case of putting things together. So, there is Raoul McLaughlin’s work on the revenue and trade flows of the Roman Empire. https://raoul-mclaughlin.com/.

Also, Walter Scheidel and colleagues work on Han China and Rome.

https://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2009/2009.04.66/

But the original analysis on the importance of trade for the size of states is from David Friedman. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/24107762_A_Theory_of_the_Size_and_Shape_of_Nations

If you add into his analysis the capacity of state’s to increase taxable trade by providing public goods, you have what you need to put it together.

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