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

摘要

The question of what determines economic growth and development or the lack thereof has remained central to the social sciences and, particularly, to economic theory since Adam Smith. Reflecting, perhaps, our dissatisfaction with the explanations of the many strands of a vast literature on this major topic, today, we are still puzzled by the great disparity in living standards across countries. And we are even more perplexed by the persistence of underdevelopment worldwide.