There appear to be two seemingly contradictory images of economic change in the Islamic World and mixed evidence on whether Islamic societies have been open or conservative against modern ideas, technological advancements, and legal developments. Whereas a conservative attitude has been dominant in some societies and time periods, Muslims were at the forefront of scientific, technological, and legal developments in others. Rather than rely on ad hoc assumptions about the attitudes and characteristics of societies or the inherent qualities of new developments, this paper explains attitudes towards change by studying the political economy of the relationship between the rulers and the legal community. I extend recent theories of endogenous institutional change to develop a framework based on how rulers and legal community reacted to new developments immediately and how their strategic interaction unleashed an endogenous process toward change in the long run. Using this framework, I identify conditions under which new ideas, technologies, and legal developments have resulted in immediate change in Islamic societies. I also examine the process of change in the long run, whether and how immediate outcomes could be sustained over time as strategic interaction continued repeatedly.
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Paper provided by University of Connecticut, Department of Economics in its series Working papers with number
2007-47.
Length: 35 pages Date of creation: Sep 2007 Date of revision: Handle: RePEc:uct:uconnp:2007-47
Note: Presented at the Conference: "Law and Economic Development: a Historical Perspective", Utrecht, Utrecht University, Sept. 20-22, 2007 Contact details of provider: Postal: University of Connecticut 341 Mansfield Road, Unit 1063 Storrs, CT 06269-1063 Phone: (860) 486-4889 Fax: (860) 486-4463 Web page: http://www.econ.uconn.edu/ More information through EDIRC
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Find related papers by JEL classification: C7 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory D02 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Institutions: Design, Formation, and Operations D7 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making H1 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government H3 - Public Economics - - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents K4 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior N4 - Economic History - - Government, War, Law, and Regulation O0 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - General
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