Academic

Book Announcement: The Long Divergence by Kuran

By Lawrence Solum

The Long Divergence
How Islamic Law Held Back the Middle East
Timur Kuran 

To read the entire book description or a sample chapter, please visit: http://press.princeton.edu/titles/9273.html

In the year 1000, the economy of the Middle East was at least as advanced as that of Europe. But by 1800, the region had fallen dramatically behind--in living standards, technology, and economic institutions. In short, the Middle East had failed to modernize economically as the West surged ahead. What caused this long divergence? And why does the Middle East remain drastically underdeveloped compared to the West? In The Long Divergence, one of the world's leading experts on Islamic economic institutions and the economy of the Middle East provides a new answer to these long-debated questions.

"[The Long Divergence] explains a large part of why the Middle East and Turkey fell behind the West and law and economics has a lot to do with it. Various laws in Islamic societies were not conducive to large-scale economic structures, at precisely the time when such structures were becoming profitable and indeed essential as drivers of economic growth. This is not a book of handwaving but rather he nails the detail, whether it is on inheritance law, contracts, forming corporations, or any number of other topics."--Tyler Cowen, Marginal Revolution

Cloth | $29.95 / £20.95 | ISBN: 978-0-691-14756-7
e-Book | $29.95 | ISBN: 978-1-4008-3601-7

Full post as published by Legal Theory Blog on December 14, 2010 (boomark / email).