The Athenian Trierarchy: Mechanism Design for the Private Provision of Public Goods

Abstract

The liturgical system in Classical Athens (479-322 BCE) privately provided public goods, including naval defense. I use it to evaluate mechanism design policies and to address uncertainties in the historical record by adding predictive economic theory to research by ancient historians. I evaluate the system’s success at meeting the conflicting goals of efficiency, feasibility, and budget balance by analyzing the Athenian citizens’ incentives within a game of asymmetric information. In the game, multiple equilibria occur; citizens may or may not volunteer for duty or avoid it. I relate the game theoretic findings to historical events.

Keywords: Ancient Greece, liturgy, trierarchy, mechanism design, public goods, institutions

JEL Classification: H40, N43, N33, P48