From Farmers to Merchants: A Human Capital Interpretation of Jewish Economic History
44 Pages Posted: 12 Feb 2003
There are 2 versions of this paper
From Farmers to Merchants: A Human Capital Interpretation of Jewish Economic History
Date Written: January 2003
Abstract
Since the Middle Ages the Jews have been engaged primarily in urban, skilled occupations, such as crafts, trade, finance and medicine. This distinctive occupational selection occurred between the seventh and the ninth centuries in the Muslim Empire and spread to other locations. We argue that this transition was the outcome of the widespread literacy among Jews prompted by an educational reform in the first century CE. Based on the growing nexus between education and Judaism in the first half of the millennium, we build a model in which Jewish men choose education, occupation, religion and location. The model predicts that when urbanization expands (as it did in the Muslim Empire), Jews move to new cities due to their comparative advantage in urban, skilled occupations. Furthermore, before urbanization a proportion of Jewish farmers are predicted to convert to other religions. The predictions of the model regarding conversions, migrations and reduction in the size of the Jewish population are consistent with historical evidence from the first millennium provided by historians. Hence, our study presents evidence for the long-term economic implications of changes in social norms.
Keywords: Jewish economic history, human capital, religion, social norms, migration, occupational choice, first millenium
JEL Classification: J10, J20, N30, O10
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Register to save articles to
your library
Recommended Papers
-
The Role of Social Capital in Financial Development
By Luigi Guiso, Paola Sapienza, ...
-
The Role of Social Capital in Financial Development
By Luigi Guiso, Paola Sapienza, ...
-
Does Culture Affect Economic Outcomes?
By Luigi Guiso, Paola Sapienza, ...
-
Does Culture Affect Economic Outcomes?
By Luigi Guiso, Paola Sapienza, ...
-
Does Culture Affect Economic Outcomes?
By Luigi Guiso, Paola Sapienza, ...
-
People's Opium? Religion and Economic Attitudes
By Luigi Guiso, Paola Sapienza, ...
-
People's Opium? Religion and Economic Attitudes
By Luigi Guiso, Paola Sapienza, ...
-
People's Opium? Religion and Economic Attitudes
By Luigi Guiso, Paola Sapienza, ...
From Farmers to Merchants: A Human Capital Interpretation of Jewish Economic History
This is a CEPR Discussion Paper. CEPR charges a fee of $8.00 for this paper.
If you wish to purchase the right to make copies of this paper for distribution to others, please select the quantity.
