47 min listen
Josiah Ober on the Ancient Greek Economy
FromEconTalk
ratings:
Length:
66 minutes
Released:
Aug 6, 2012
Format:
Podcast episode
Description
Josiah Ober of Stanford University talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the economy of ancient Greece, particularly Athens. Ober notes that the standard view of ancient Greece is that it was very poor. Drawing on various kinds of evidence, Ober argues that Greece was actually quite successful, and that the average citizen of ancient Athens lived quite well by ancient standards. He suggests two possible explanations for Greece's economic success--an openness of the political process that reduced transaction costs and encouraged human capital investment or innovation and cross-fertilization across Greek states. The conversation also explores the nature of evidence for understanding antiquity and the prospect for future discoveries pertaining to ancient Greece.
Released:
Aug 6, 2012
Format:
Podcast episode
Titles in the series (100)
Barro on Growth: Russ Roberts interviews Robert Barro on the economics of growth, what the developed world can do to help poor people around the world, and the role of US assets and the dollar in world finance. by EconTalk