Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/235270 
Year of Publication: 
2021
Series/Report no.: 
CESifo Working Paper No. 8900
Publisher: 
Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute (CESifo), Munich
Abstract: 
Recent theories of the Long Divergence between Middle Eastern and Western European economies focus on Middle Eastern (over-)reliance on religious legitimacy, use of slave soldiers, and persistence of restrictive proscriptions of religious (Islamic) law. These theories take as exogenous the cultural values that complement the prevailing institutions. As a result, they miss the role of cultural values in either supporting the persistence of or inducing change in the economic and institutional environment. In this paper, we address these issues by modeling the joint evolution of institutions and culture. In doing so, we place the various hypotheses of economic divergence into one, unifying framework. We highlight the role that cultural transmission plays in reinforcing institutional evolution toward either theocratic or secular states. We extend the model to shed light on political decentralization and technological change in the two regions.
Subjects: 
long divergence
cultural transmission
institutions
legitimacy
religion
JEL: 
O10
P16
P48
N34
N35
Z12
O33
Document Type: 
Working Paper
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