Bazaars of the Thousand and one nights

Date

2007-12-01

Author

Ozveren, Eyuep

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A re-reading of the Thousand and One Nights in light of economic thought is attempted here. These stories characterize a bazaar economy as the dark side of medieval economics. The process-view of the bazaar is discussed in relation to Smith, Walras and the Austrian School. The tacit notions of 'market price' and 'natural price' are touched upon. Auctions are then elaborated with reference to Bohm-Bawerk. Moreover, the role of asymmetric information as a recurrent theme is interpreted in relation with Akerlof's approach. Finally, the collective function of the tales in fostering confidence in a less-than-well instituted bazaar economy is emphasized.

Subject Keywords

History and Philosophy of Science, Economics, Econometrics and Finance (miscellaneous), General Arts and Humanities

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/63777

Collections

Department of Economics, Article