This paper uses Douglass North's theories of institutional economics to explain progress in Muslim Spain. It argues that it was efficient economic institutions in the guise of a free-market economy where the property rights of different strata of society were well protected, which ensured lasting prosperity. This paper postulates that while a population explosion could have been responsible for the initial growth in Spain, it was an efficient formal-informal institutional matrix that ensured a high level of long-term growth. Copyright (c) 2009 The Author. Journal compilation (c) Institute of Economic Affairs 2009. Published by Blackwell Publishing, Oxford.
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Article provided by Blackwell Publishing in its journal Economic Affairs.