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This book examines the role of institutions and law on the economic performance of the Ottoman Empire between 1500 and 1800. By focussing on the pre-industrial period, the transition to industrialisation and the mechanisms behind it can be explored. Particular attention is given to the allocation of financial resources towards more productive and efficient economic activities and the role this played in economic divergence among societies. A comparative analysis with European societies highlights the importance of non-economic institutions during the pre-industrial period.
This book aims to provide new analytical perspectives and ways of thinking about how the Ottoman Empire lost its powerful economic and political structures. It is relevant to students and researchers interested in economic history, law and economics, and the political economy.
List of contents
1 The Rule of Law in the Historical Context.- 2 The Institutional Change: Historical Background.- 3 Fundamental economic indicators of the Ottoman Economy.- 4 A comparison with European societies under the State Finance.- 5 Tax -farming contracts.- 6 Law and economics of tax-farming contracts.- 7 Prisoner's Dilemma as a tool to analyze tax-farming institutions.- 8 Commitment Problems and the Law Enforcement.- 9 A comparison with France.- 10 Concluding Remarks.
About the author
Bora Altay is an Economist at the Ankara Yildirim Beyazit University, Turkey.
Fuat O¿uz is Professor of Economics at Ankara Yildirim Beyazit University, Turkey.
