This book presents an economic analysis of the causes and consequences of institutional change in ancient Athens. Focusing on the period 800-300 BCE, it looks in particular at the development of political institutions and taxation, including a new look at the activities of individuals like Solon, Kleisthenes and Perikles and on the changes in political rules and taxation after the Peloponnesian War.

Carl Hampus Lyttkens is a Professor in the Department of Economics, University of Lund, Sweden

1. Ancient Greece, institutional change and economic analysis 2. Historical background. Ancient Greece from the demise of the Mycenaean society to the death of Alexander the Great 3. The emergence of the polis and its institutions 4. The road to democracy part 1: A structural approach 5. The road to democracy part 2: Institutional change as individually rational action 6. Taxation - ubiquitous and telling 7. Institutions and markets 8. Economic analysis of institutional change in ancient Greece - the past meets the present