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Zusatztext "This is a trailblazing, original, illuminating and horizon-broadening book." ---Manuel Trajtenberg, Haaretz Informationen zum Autor Maristella Botticini is professor of economics! as well as director and fellow of the Innocenzo Gasparini Institute for Economic Research (IGIER)! at Bocconi University in Milan. Zvi Eckstein is dean of the Arison School of Business and of the School of Economics at IDC Herzliya in Herzliya! Israel; Judith C. and William G. Bollinger visiting professor in the Finance Department at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania; and emeritus professor in the Eitan Berglas School of Economics at Tel Aviv University. Klappentext By 1492 the Jewish people had become a small group of literate urbanites specializing in crafts! trade! moneylending! and medicine in hundreds of places across the Old World! from Seville to Mangalore. What caused this radical change? This book presents a new answer to this question. Zusammenfassung How the Jewish people went from farmers to merchants In 70 CE, the Jews were an agrarian and illiterate people living mostly in the Land of Israel and Mesopotamia. By 1492 the Jewish people had become a small group of literate urbanites specializing in crafts, trade, moneylending, and medicine in hundreds of places across the Old World, from Seville to Mangalore. What caused this radical change? The Chosen Few presents a new answer to this question by applying the lens of economic analysis to the key facts of fifteen formative centuries of Jewish history. Maristella Botticini and Zvi Eckstein offer a powerful new explanation of one of the most significant transformations in Jewish history while also providing fresh insights into the growing debate about the social and economic impact of religion. Inhaltsverzeichnis List of Illustrations xi List of Tables xiii Preface xv Introduction 1 Chapter 1 70 CE-1492: How Many Jews Were There! and Where and How Did They Live? 11 From Jesus to Muhammad (1 CE-622): A World of Farmers 15 From Muhammad to Hulagu Khan (622-1258): Farmers to Merchants 31 From Hulagu Khan to Tomas de Torquemada (1258-1492): The End of the Golden Age 44 Jewish History! 70 CE-1492: Puzzles 51 Chapter 2 Were the Jews a Persecuted Minority? 52 Restrictions on Jewish Economic Activities 52 Taxation Discrimination 58 Physical versus Portable Human Capital 59 Self-Segregated Religious Minority 61 The Economics of Small Minorities 62 Summary 65 Chapter 3 The People of the Book! 200 BCE-200 CE 66 The Two Pillars of Judaism from Ezra to Hillel (500-50 BCE): The Temple and the Torah 66 The Lever of Judaism: Education as a Religious Norm 69 The Destruction of the Second Temple: From Ritual Sacrifices to Torah Reading and Study 73 The Legacy of Rabbinic Judaism: The Mishna and Universal Primary Education! 10 CE-200 74 Judaism and Education: The Unique Link in the World of the Mishna 78 Chapter 4 The Economics of Hebrew Literacy in a World of Farmers 80 Heterogeneity and the Choices Facing Jewish Farmers circa 200 82 The Economic Theory: Basic Setup 84 The Economic Theory: Predictions 87 Life in a Village in the Galilee circa 200 through the Lens of the Theory 88 Annex 4.A: Formal Model of Education and Conversion of Farmers 89 Chapter 5 Jews in the Talmud Era! 200-650: The Chosen Few 95 An Increasingly Literate Farming Society 96 Conversions of Jewish Farmers 111 Summary 122 Chapter 6 From Farmers to Merchants! 750-1150 124 The Economics of Hebrew Literacy in a World of Merchants 125 The Golden Age of Literate Jews in the Muslim Caliphates 130 Summary 150 Annex 6.A: Formal Model of Education and Conversion of Merchants 150 Chapter 7 Educated Wandering Jews! 800-1250 153 Wandering Jews before Marco Polo 154 Jewish Migration within the Muslim Caliphates 163 Migration of By...
