Economic Analysis in Talmudic Literature: Rabbinic Thought in the Light of Modern Economics

Written by an economic historian, Economic Analysis in Talmudic Literature 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 contemporary or modern perspective, display an extraordinary degree of insight and sophistication. Indeed, sections of the Talmud and the refections 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. In this sense, the talmudic tradition incorporates economic thought which can be said to anticipate later developments.