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Reflections on the Origins of the Polis: An Economic Perspective on Institutional Change in Ancient Greece

Author

Summary, in English

From a beginning of small isolated settlements around 1000 B.C., the city-state (polis) emerged in Greece in the course of four centuries as a political, geographical and judicial unit, with an assembly, council, magistrates and written laws. Using a rational-actor perspective, it is shown how this process was driven by competition among the members of the elite. A crucial ingredient was the gradual consolidation of boundaries, which contributed to population growth, inter-state conflicts, colonisation and competition for power. Variations over time in the conditions for competition explain both the introduction of formal political institutions and their overthrow by tyrants.

Publishing year

2006

Language

English

Pages

31-48

Publication/Series

Constitutional Political Economy

Volume

17

Issue

1

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

Springer

Topic

  • Economics

Keywords

  • Institutional change
  • Ancient Greece
  • City-state
  • Competition

Status

Published

Project

  • The Economics of Ancient Greece

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 1043-4062