Economic Structures of Antiquity (Contributions in Economics & Economic History)

Description

The economy of the ancient Middle East and Greece is reinterpreted by Morris Silver in this provocative new synthesis. Silver finds that the ancient economy emerges as a class of economies with its own laws of motion shaped by transaction costs (the resources used up in exchanging ownership rights). The analysis of transaction costs provides insights into many characteristics of the ancient economy, such as the important role of the sacred and symbolic gestures in making contracts, magical technology, the entrepreneurial role of high-born women, the elevation of familial ties and other departures from impersonal economics, reliance on slavery and adoption, and the insatiable drive to accumulate trust-capital. The peculiar behavior patterns and mindsets of ancient economic man are shown to be facilitators of economic growth. In recent years, our view of the economy of the ancient world has been shaped by the theories of Karl Polanyi. Silver confronts Polanyi's empirical propositions with the available evidence and demonstrates that antiquity knew active and sophisticated markets. In the course of providing an alternative analytical framework for studying the ancient economy, Silver gives critical attention to the economic views of the Assyriologists I.M. Diakonoff, W.F. Leemans, Mario Liverani, and J.N. Postgate; of the Egyptologists Jacob J. Janssen and Wolfgang Helck; and of the numerous followers of Moses Finley. Silver convincingly demonstrates that the ancient world was not static: periods of pervasive economic regulation by the state are interspersed with lengthy periods of relatively unfettered market activity, and the economies of Sumer, Babylonia, and archaic Greece were capable of transforming themselves in order to take advantage of new opportunities. This new synthesis is essential reading for economic historians and researchers of the ancient Near East and Greece. Contents Acknowledgments Author's Notes Transcriptions and Phonetics Symbols Abbreviations References Chronological Table Introduction Part I: Structural Characteristics of the Ancient Economy 1. Gods as Inputs and Outputs of the Ancient Economy A. The Contribution of Gods to Economic Growth B. Syncretism as an Investment in Trust C. Oaths and the Gods D. The Contribution of Temples to Economic Growth E. Contribution of Economic Growth to the Gods: An Application of Behavioral Economics 2. Adaptations of Markets and Hierarchical Relationships to Transaction Costs A. Symbolic Action and Recitation in the Contractual Process B. Code of the Merchant: Investment in Name Capital C. An Alternative Interpretation of "Gift Trade" D. Importance of Family Firms E. Family Ties and Innovation F. Women as Businesspersons and Entrepreneurs G. Employment of Slaves and Adoptees H. Size of Firm and Versatility of Firm 3. Who Were the Entrepreneurs? The Problem of "Public" Enterprise 4. Commercial Transport, Gains from Trade, Storage, and Diffusion of New Technology A. Land Transport B. Water Transport C. Storage and Monopoly Power D. Diffusion of Technology Part II: Markets in Antiquity: The Challenge of the Evidence 5. The Existence of Markets 6. The Credibility of Markets Part III: The Response to Changes in Economic Incentives and Public Policy 7. New Markets and Land Consolidation A. Sumer B. Archaic Greece C. Babylonia 8. Changes in Economic Policy and Organization 9. Concluding Remarks Selected Bibliography Index A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z