Religion and Rise and Fall of Islamic Science
This paper documents a decline in scientific output in the medieval Islamic world and empirically links the decline to the political empowerment of religious leaders. A contraction in secular bureaucratic structures strengthened conservative religious elites who altered institutions to discourage the study of topics that undermined their societal control. The decline geographically tracks these institutional changes from east to west, providing additional evidence that rent-seeking religious leaders contributed to the decline of Islamic science.
Date:
1 May 2024, 11:00 (Wednesday, 2nd week, Trinity 2024)
Venue:
Manor Road Building, Manor Road OX1 3UQ
Venue Details:
Seminar Room A
Speaker:
Eric Chaney (University of Oxford)
Organising department:
Department of Economics
Part of:
Political Economy Seminar
Booking required?:
Not required
Audience:
Members of the University only
Editor:
Edward Clark
