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Bad news for Saskatchewan?
States with squiggly borders are more stable than states with straight, man-drawn borders, according to a recent paper.
Key quote:
Less squiggly countries, the scholars found, generally have lower income, worse public services and higher infant mortality rates. They also found that social unrest, the sort that leads to wars, was also more frequent in unsquiggly places.
Drat. One more thing to worry about: the looming Saskatchewan Civil War. Probably between Saskatoon and Regina, but you never know…can we really trust the Moose Javians, Yorktonians, Swift Currentites or Lloydminsterians?
I think we should bring in a U.N. force now, before it’s too late!
Permanent link to this article: https://edwardwillett.com/2006/08/bad-news-for-saskatchewan/
2 comments
Who on earth thought to ask the question???
Ed, keep in mind that there aren’t very many natural squiggles for a border in Saskatchewan to follow, so it probably won’t affect you guys.
Saskboy has a bit of a point. Arbitrary lines might tend to create a state without a sense of natural cohesion. Best guess I can come up with anyway.
Actually this make sense, and helps explain the Alberta/SK rivalry. Physical barriers are better political barriers than just a political line drawn on paper. There’s really no difference between a farmer’s job at 49.1 degrees latitude in SK, and a farmer at 48.9 degrees latitude in Montana, but an arbitrary political line can mean one has a great year moneywise while they other fails.