ABSTRACT
This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on the concepts discussed in the preceding chapters of this book. The book argues that the relative political capacity (RPC) models are closer to the Leviathan view of govem-ment than the optimal mix would suggest, but he grants that RPC's macro specifications are "set up for testing." It points out in the measures of extraction and reach the political components of the model are not specified but are contained in the residual. This approach is taken because the political components were not known and, had they been known, the data to construct the indicators were lacking, and still are. The book also argues that political costs can be estimated as the difference between an adjusted maximum extraction and the real extraction. It proposes a political capacity index on an economic frontier determined by endowments, production technology, and revenue-raising technology.
