The Economy of Classical Athens

"""In the last 50 years, intensive research by numerous devoted scholars has established that the economy in classical Athens functioned much like a money and credit-based market economy by drawing on the incentives of private property over the means of production in a framework of consistent and well-defined state institutions and regulations. If there are any doubts in the minds of those who side with the view that the ancient Athenian economy was ‘primitive’ and ‘backward’, they are soundly dispelled by the powerful arguments submitted in this well-written booκ by Emmanouil M. L. Economou."" George C. Bitros, Emeritus Professor of Economics, Athens University of Economics and Business ""Like Aristotle (άριστον τέλος), Dr Economou has a nomen that is also an omen. He is a leading expert on ancient Greek, and especially Classical Athenian, economy in all its aspects and ramifications. In his thoroughly researched and powerfully argued ‘Economics in Classical Athens: Organization, Institutions and Society’ he demonstrates that the Athenians in their democratic period of c. 500 to 320 BCE developed a high level of consent-building which played an essential role in founding their historical paradigm's great success. The Classical Athenian democracy was indeed, in its economic aspect, a model of a social organism adaptive to change. All students of Athenian democracy, including comparative economic historians, will profit from a careful reading of this major new work."" - Paul Cartledge, A.G. Leventis Professor of Greek Culture Emeritus, University of Cambridge, Faculty of Classics ""In economics, it has become exceedingly clear that the most important factors for development are the institutions in a society, both the formal rules (laws, regulations, etc.), and the informal rules (such as social norms). Ancient Greece witnessed the introduction of many institutions that would prove to be conducive to market behaviour (secure property rights, trade-friendly policies etc.). And the ancient Athenian society of the classical period is remarkable in many ways. Economou’s book is a very welcome addition to the literature on ancient Greece. Economou’s presentation of the Athenian institutional structure is comprehensive and meticulous. Some of the institutional features he describes are well-known in the social science literature while others will be news to this audience and will provide very interesting reading. Economou deals a lot both with the Athenian welfare policies and public sector generally. Similarly, he devotes a substantial part of the book to the financial sector in Athens and to the role of money. Economou incorporates a substantial number of quotes from the literature in his writing, both from the ancient literature and from contemporary scholars. This is helpful, and it also makes for a more interesting reading experience. If you are interested in the mechanisms of institutional change, ancient Athens is a very useful place to begin your study, and if you are interested in ancient Athens, this book by Emmanouil M.L. Economou is a very good place to start."" - Carl Hampus Lyttkens, Professor Εmeritus of Economics, Department of Economics, Lund University, Author of Economic analysis of institutional change in ancient Greece, Routledge 2013."