The demographic history of the Jews in the Middle Ages may be characterized by two main phenomena: i) a sharp drop in the number of Jews until the beginning of the modern period, due mainly to conversions; and, ii) early urbanization. Until now, these features have been analyzed as primarily...

An economic theory of immigration and immigrant absorption for a religious minority is developed and applied to Jewish history. Human capital is classified according to whether it is allocative or productive, transferable or location-specific, general or Jewish. Crossclassifying these categories...