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Authoritative: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X08005256   (Publisher's PDF... likely be available here.)

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Abstract

Christiansen & Chater (C&C) suggest that language is itself an evolutionary system, and that natural languages to be easy to learn and process. The tight economy of the world's case-marking systems lends support to this hypothesis. Only two major case systems occur, cross-linguistically, and noun phrases are seldom overtly case-marked wherever zero-marking would be functionally practical.

@article{tallerman08BBScomments,
  author={Maggie Tallerman},
  title={Case-marking systems evolve to be easy to learn and process},
  journal={Behavioral and Brain Sciences},
  year={2008},
  volume={31},
  number={5},
  pages={534-535},
  doi={10.1017/S0140525X08005256},
  url={http://www.isrl.uiuc.edu/~amag/langev/paper/tallerman08BBScomments.html}
}