Athenian fiscal expansionary policy and peace versus war strategy

Economou, Emmanouel/Marios/Lazaros and Kyriazis, Nicholas (2015): Athenian fiscal expansionary policy and peace versus war strategy.

Abstract

In the present essay, we develop at first a model of choice by actors to show how a society can take decisions on specific issues according to how flexible or rigid it is in new ideas and trends. Then, by utilizing game theory we explain how the Athenian society abandoned war in favour of a peace grand strategy during the second half of the 4th century BCE. To achieve this, two visionary Athenian policymakers Eubulus and Lycurgus introduced fiscal expansionary policy programs which proved beneficial for the majority of the citizens. We found that through the expansionary public works programs, the Athenian citizens were taking decisions based on rational choice according to a wider economic prospective.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: model of choice, game theory, fiscal expansionary programs, Late 4th century BCE Athens
• Subjects: H - Public Economics > H3 - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents > H30 - General; H - Public Economics > H5 - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies > H53 - Government Expenditures and Welfare Programs; H - Public Economics > H5 - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies > H56 - National Security and War; N - Economic History > N4 - Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation; N - Economic History > N4 - Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation > N43 - Europe: Pre-1913; Z - Other Special Topics > Z1 - Cultural Economics ; Economic Sociology ; Economic Anthropology > Z13 - Economic Sociology ; Economic Anthropology ; Social and Economic Stratification; Z - Other Special Topics > Z1 - Cultural Economics ; Economic Sociology ; Economic Anthropology > Z18 - Public Policy

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