The Role of Palatial Economic Organization in Creating Wealth in Minoan and Mycenaean States

Serge Svizzero and Clement Tisdell

No 206552, Economic Theory, Applications and Issues Working Papers from University of Queensland, School of Economics

Abstract: During the Late Bronze Age, Aegean societies (Minoan and Mycenaean) exhibited strong economic development. This resulted from the implementation by the elite of a centralized and hierarchical administrative and social system in order to manage most economic activities. In these palatial economies, the elite organized the extraction of the surplus, therefore avoiding the Malthusian trap. They also organized the division of labor and the specialization in production and the distribution of the collected surplus by means of staple and wealth finance systems, the latter being based on the production of luxury items controlled by the palace. Trade was also encouraged in order to strengthen palatial power.

Keywords: Community/Rural/Urban Development; Land Economics/Use (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 20
Date: 2015-06
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-his
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Working Paper: The Role of Palatial Economic Organization in Creating Wealth in Minoan and Mycenaean States (2015)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:uqseet:206552

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.206552

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