Economic Structures of Antiquity PDF
Preview Economic Structures of Antiquity
Economic Structures of Antiquity Recent Titles in Contributions in Economics and Economic History Development versus Stagnation: Technological Continuity and Agricultural Progress in Pre-Modern China Gang Deng Commodity Chains and Global Capitalism Gary Gerejfi and Miguel E. Korzeniewcz, editors Global Telecommunications Policies: The Challenge of Change Meheroo Jussawalla, editor The State and Capitalism in Israel Amir Ben-Porat The Economy of Iraq: Oil, Wars, Destruction of Development and Prospects, 1950-2010 Abbas Alnasrawi The Economy in the Reagan Years: The Economic Consequences of the Reagan Administrations Anthony S. Campagna Prelude to Trade Wars: American Tariff Policy, 1890-1922 Edward S. Kaplan and Thomas W. Ryley Projecting Capitalism: A History of the Internationalization of the Construction Industry Marc hinder Recent Industrialization Experience of Turkey in a Global Context Fikret §enses, editor The Chinese Financial System Cecil R. Dipchand, Zhang Yichun, and Ma Mingjia The Sports Stadium as a Municipal Investment Dean V. Bairn Food and Agrarian Orders in the World-Economy Philip McMichael Economic Structures of Antiquity Morris Silver Contributions in Economics and Economic History, Number 159 George Schwab, Series Adviser Greenwood Press Westport, Connecticut • London Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Silver, Morris. Economic structures of antiquity / Morris Silver. p. cm. — (Contributions in economics and economic history, ISSN 0084-9235 ; no. 159) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-313-29380-5 (alk. paper) 1. Economic history—To 500. I. Title. II. Series. HC31.S555 1995 330.9'09'01—dc20 94-17306 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available. Copyright © 1995 by Morris Silver All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, by any process or technique, without the express written consent of the publisher. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 94-17306 ISBN: 0-313-29380-5 ISSN: 0084-9235 First published in 1995 Greenwood Press, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881 An imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. Printed in the United States of America The paper used in this book complies with the Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National Information Standards Organization (Z39.48-1984). 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 21 To my wife Sandy, who made everything possible This page intentionally left blank Contents Acknowledgments xi Author's Notes xiii Transcriptions and Phonetics xiii Symbols xv Abbreviations xv References xvi Chronological Table xvii Introduction xxi Part I Structural Characteristics of the Ancient Economy 1 1. Gods as Inputs and Outputs of the Ancient Economy 3 A. The Contribution of Gods to Economic Growth 3 B. Syncretism as an Investment in Trust 7 C. Oaths and the Gods 10 D. The Contribution of Temples to Economic Growth 18 E. Contribution of Economic Growth to the Gods: An Application of Behavioral Economics 34 viii Contents 2. Adaptations of Markets and Hierarchical Relationships to Transaction Costs 39 A. Symbolic Action and Recitation in the Contractual Process 39 B. Code of the Merchant: Investment in Name Capital 42 C. An Alternative Interpretation of "Gift Trade" 45 D. Importance of Family Firms 50 E. Family Ties and Innovation 53 F. Women as Businesspersons and Entrepreneurs 54 G. Employment of Slaves and Adoptees 64 H. Size of Firm and Versatility of Firm 66 3. Who Were the Entrepreneurs? The Problem of "Public" Enterprise 73 4. Commercial Transport, Gains from Trade, Storage, and Diffusion of New Technology 81 A. Land Transport 82 B. Water Transport 85 C. Storage and Monopoly Power 88 D. Diffusion of Technology 91 Part II Markets in Antiquity: The Challenge of the Evidence 95 5. The Existence of Markets 97 6. The Credibility of Markets 153 Part III The Response to Changes in Economic Incentives and Public Policy 179 7. New Markets and Land Consolidation 181 A. Sumer 182 B. Archaic Greece 184 C. Babylonia 189 Contents ix 8. Changes in Economic Policy and Organization 195 9. Concluding Remarks 201 Selected Bibliography 205 Index 243
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