Author:
BERGH ANDREAS,LYTTKENS CARL HAMPUS
Abstract
AbstractWe use the Economic Freedom Index to characterize the institutions of the Athenian city-state in the fourth century BCE. It has been shown that ancient Greece witnessed improved living conditions for an extended period of time. Athens in the fourth century appears to have fared particularly well. We find that economic freedom in ancient Athens is on level with the highest ranked modern economies such as Hong Kong and Singapore. With the exception of the position of women and slaves, Athens scores high in almost every dimension of economic freedom. Trade is probably highly important even by current standards. As studies of contemporary societies suggest that institutional quality is probably an important determinant of economic growth, it may also have been one factor in the relative material success of the Athenians.
Publisher
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Subject
General Economics, Econometrics and Finance
Reference77 articles.
1. Premodern Financial Systems
2. Gwartney J. , R. Lawson and S. Norton (2010), Economic Freedom of the World: 2010 Annual Report. The Fraser Institute. Data retrieved from www.freetheworld.com.
3. Economy and Economics of Ancient Greece
Cited by
16 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献，注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献，订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献
1. Introduction;Frontiers in Economic History;2024
2. The Financial Institutions of the Athenian Economy;The Economy of Classical Athens;2023-08-09
3. The Athenian Market;The Economy of Classical Athens;2023-08-09
4. The Ancient Economy;The Economy of Classical Athens;2023-08-09
5. Measuring economic freedom during the Covid-19 pandemic;Journal of Institutional Economics;2022-10-21