Recent theories of the Long Divergence between Middle Eastern and Western European economies focus on Middle Eastern (over-)reliance on religious legitimacy, use of slave soldiers, and persistence of restrictive proscriptions of religious (Islamic) law. These theories take as exogenous the...

1. Introduction (Jean-Paul Carvalho, Sriya Iyer, and Jared Rubin) -- Part I: Theoretical Advances in the Economics of Religion -- 2. Religious Clubs: The Strategic Role of Religious Identity (Jean-Paul Carvalho) -- 3. Spatial Models of Religious Market Competition: A Critical Assessment (Michael...

This chapter surveys the recent social science literature on religion in economic history, covering both socioeconomic causes and consequences of religion. Following the rapidly growing literature, it focuses on the three main monotheisms -Judaism, Christianity, and Islam - and on the period up...

This paper surveys the recent social science literature on religion in economic history, covering both socioeconomic causes and consequences of religion. Following the rapidly growing literature, it focuses on the three main monotheisms - Judaism, Christianity, and Islam - and on the period up...