From Baghdad to London: Unraveling Urban Development in Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa, 800–1800
研究800至1800年间城市重心从伊斯兰世界转向欧洲的原因，利用新数据集分析地理和制度的作用，发现运输方式差异和地方参与式政府的发展是关键因素。
Abstract This paper empirically investigates why, between 800 and 1800, the urban center of gravity moved from the Islamic world to Europe. Using a large new city-specific data set covering Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa, we unravel the role of geography and institutions in determining long-run city development in the two regions. We find that the main reasons for the Islamic world's stagnation and Europe's long-term success are specific to each region: any significant positive interaction between cities in the two regions hampered by their different main religious orientation. Together, the long-term consequences of a different choice of main transport mode (camel versus ship) and the development of forms of local participative government in Europe that made cities less dependent on the state explain why Europe's urban development eventually outpaced that in the Islamic world.