Social Contract, public choice and fiscal repercussions in Athenian Democracy

Kyriazis, Nicholas and Economou, Emmanouel/Marios/Lazaros and Zachilas, Loukas (2012): Social Contract, public choice and fiscal repercussions in Athenian Democracy.

Abstract

In the present essay, by utilizing game theory we present a model of choice by actors to explain how change comes about. Then by using ancient and modern sources of literature, we analyse the theory of the social contract as a historical phenomenon that first appeared during the classical period of Athens (510-323 BC.). Then we utilize our findings to explain how public choice was practiced under a direct democracy regime in ancient Athens, by focusing on two historical cases: Eubulus and Lycurgus fiscal policy programs in the second half of the 4th century. We found that these policies can be explained as an implementation of a social contract, through which the Athenian citizens were taking decisions based on rational choice according to a wider economic prospective.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: Greek
• Keywords: model of choice, social contract, 4th century BC Athens
• Subjects: H - Public Economics > H5 - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies > H53 - Government Expenditures and Welfare Programs; G - Financial Economics > G2 - Financial Institutions and Services > G28 - Government Policy and Regulation; A - General Economics and Teaching > A1 - General Economics > A14 - Sociology of Economics; B - History of Economic Thought, Methodology, and Heterodox Approaches > B1 - History of Economic Thought through 1925 > B15 - Historical ; Institutional ; Evolutionary; H - Public Economics > H4 - Publicly Provided Goods > H44 - Publicly Provided Goods: Mixed Markets; N - Economic History > N4 - Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation > N43 - Europe: Pre-1913

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