Economic Analysis in Talmudic Literature: Rabbinic Thought in the Light of Modern Economics
This lucidly written study is unique in that there is no book extant by an economic historian that discusses Talmudic economics in the light of modern economics. Its major focus is on the intricate debates, statements and principles that were forged by the Talmudic Rabbis. This ancient storehouse of learning includes a wealth of economic knowledge of modern sophistication. The book taps these "economic treasures" by way of analytic inquiry.\ The authors, both economic historians and...
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This lucidly written study is unique in that there is no book extant by an economic historian that discusses Talmudic economics in the light of modern economics. Its major focus is on the intricate debates, statements and principles that were forged by the Talmudic Rabbis. This ancient storehouse of learning includes a wealth of economic knowledge of modern sophistication. The book taps these "economic treasures" by way of analytic inquiry.The authors, both economic historians and economists, through their study of the original dialectics in the Talmud, were able to discern a wide range of macro- and micro-economic ideas of major significance. These concepts when viewed from either a contemporary or a modern perspective, display an extraordinary degree of insight and sophistication. Indeed, sections of the Talmud and the reflections of subsequent commentators on those passages, embody a wealth of economic thought that was later to become significant in the reasoning of political economists, or of their professional academic successors.
AcknowledgementsPrefacePrefacePrefacePt. IBackgroundsIThe Talmud and its Method3IIOld Wisdom and the Written Law14Pt. IIMacro-Economic IssuesIIIEconomic Self-interest and Social Progress35IVScarcity, Supply and Fluctuations46Pt. IIIMicro-Economic IssuesVOpportunity Cost and Market Behaviour57VIGame Theory - the Talmudic Minimax68VIIRisk, Uncertainty and Expectation83Pt. IVThe Values of PersonsVIIICategories of Value101IXHuman Capital Issues114Pt. VImpact on Western EconomicsXJews in the European Economy131Select Bibliography of Related Studies144Name Index148Subject Index151
