From Farmers to Merchants:A Human Capital Interpretation of Jewish Economic History

Maristella Botticini and Zvi Eckstein ()

No WP2005-018, Boston University - Department of Economics - Working Papers Series from Boston University - Department of Economics

Abstract: Since the early Middle Ages almost all the Jews have been engaged primarily in urban, skilled occupations. The transition from farmers to merchants occurred between the eighth and the ninth centuries in the Muslim Empire where the Jews moved from villages to the newly developed urban centers. They continued to be engaged in urban occupations throughout their history. We explain this occupational selection as the outcome of (i) the Jews’ investment in education prompted by a change in religious norms during the first and second centuries, and (ii) the increased urbanization in the Muslim Empire. Our theory also predicts that the change in religious norms would lead some Jews to voluntarily convert to other religions. A substantial reduction in Jewish population between the second and the sixth centuries confirms this prediction.

Keywords: first millennium; human capital; Jewish economic history; migration; occupational choice; religion and social norms. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J10 J20 N30 O10 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 30 pages
Date: 2005-03
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dev and nep-his
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Related works:
Working Paper: From Farmers to Merchants: A Human Capital Interpretation of Jewish Economic History (2003)
Working Paper: From Farmers to Merchants: A Human Capital Interpretation of Jewish Economic History (2003)
Working Paper: From Farmers to Merchants: A Human Capital Interpretation of Jewish Economic History (2002)
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