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The Athenian Trierarchy: Mechanism Design for the Private Provision of Public Goods

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 May 2007

Brooks A. Kaiser
Brooks A. Kaiser
Affiliation:
Associate Professor, Department of Economics, Gettysburg College, Box 391, 300 N. Washington St., Gettysburg, PA 17325. E-mail: [email protected].
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Abstract

The liturgical system in Classical Athens (479–322 BCE) privately provided public goods, including naval defense. I use it to evaluate mechanism design policies and to address uncertainties in the historical record by adding predictive economic theory to research by ancient historians. I evaluate the system's success at meeting the conflicting goals of efficiency, feasibility, and budget balance by analyzing the Athenian citizens' incentives within a game of asymmetric information. In the game, multiple equilibria occur; citizens may or may not volunteer for duty or avoid it. I relate the game theoretic findings to historical events.

Type
ARTICLES
Information
The Journal of Economic History , Volume 67 , Issue 2 , June 2007 , pp. 445 - 480
Copyright
© 2007 The Economic History Association

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References

LITERARY TEXTS

Carter L. B. The Quiet Athenian. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1986.
Casson Lionel. Ships and Seafaring in Ancient Times. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1996.
Cawkwell George L. “Athenian Naval Power in the Fourth Century.” Classical Quarterly 34, no. ii (1984): 334-45.Google Scholar
Cohen Edward. Athenian Economy and Society: A Banking Perspective. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1992.
Davies John K. Athenian Propertied Families: 600-300 BC. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1971.
Davies John K.. Wealth and the Power of Wealth in Classical Athens. New York: Arno Press, 1981.
Finley Moses I. Studies in Land and Credit in Ancient Athens 500-200 BC. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1952.
Finley Moses I.. The Ancient Economy. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1985.
Fudenberg Drew, and Jean Tirole. Game Theory. Cambridge, MA: M.I.T. Press, 1992.
Gabrielsen Vincent. “Diadikasia Documents.” Classica et Mediaevalia 38 (1987): 39-51.Google Scholar
Gabrielsen Vincent. Financing the Athenian Fleet: Public Taxation and Social Relations. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1994.
Jordan Borimir. “Metic Trierarchs.” The Ancient History Bulletin 15 no. 3 (2001): 131-34.Google Scholar
Lyttkens Carl H. “Effects of the Taxation of Wealth in Athens in the Fourth Century B.C.” Scandinavian Economic History Review 40, no. 2 (1992): 3-20.Google Scholar
Lyttkens Carl H.. “A Rational-Actor Perspective on the Origin of Liturgies in Ancient Greece.” Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics 153 (1997): 462-83.Google Scholar
Millett Paul “Maritime Loans and the Structure of Credit in Fourth-Century Athens.” In Trade in the Ancient Economy, edited by Peter Garnsey, Keith Hop-kins, and C. R. Whittaker, 36-52, 186-89. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1983.
Osborne Robin. Demos: The Discovery of Classical Attika. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985.
Rahe Paul A. “The Primacy of Politics in Classical Greece.” American Historical Review 89 (1984): 265-93.Google Scholar
Rosivach Vincent J. “Manning the Athenian Fleet.” American Journal of Ancient History 10, no. 1 (1985): 41-66.Google Scholar
Shipton Kirsty. Leasing and Lending: The Cash Economy in Fourth-Century BC Athens. London: Institute of Classical Studies, School of Advanced Study, University of London, 2000.
Silverman David L. “The Trierarchy and Athenian Civic Identity.” Ph.D. diss., Uni-versity of California, Berkeley, 1994.
Traill John S. The Political Organization of Attica. Princeton, NJ: American School of Classical Studies at Athens, 1975.
Wallinga H. T. Ships and Sea-Power before the Great Persian War: The Ancestry of the Ancient Trireme. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1993.
Whitehead David. “Competitive Outlay and Community Profit: ? in Democratic Athens.” Classica et Mediaevalia 34 (1983): 55-74.Google Scholar
Whitehead David. The Demes of Attica 508/7-CA.250 BC. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1986.
Wilson Peter. The Athenian Institution of the Khoregia: The Chorus, the City, and the Stage. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000.
Aristotle. Athenaion Politeia: 21.2, 22.7
Demosthenes. 4. First Phillipic: 21, 36
Demosthenes. 14. On the Symmories: 16
Demosthenes. 21. Against Meidias: 78
Demosthenes. 42. Against Phainippus: 25
Herodotus. 7.144
Thucydides. 1.14, 1.74, 1.112, 8.1.
Inscriptiones Graecae
II2: 1604–1632
II2: 1928–1932
Carter L. B. The Quiet Athenian. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1986.
Casson Lionel. Ships and Seafaring in Ancient Times. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1996.
Cawkwell George L. “Athenian Naval Power in the Fourth Century.” Classical Quarterly 34, no. ii (1984): 334-45.Google Scholar
Cohen Edward. Athenian Economy and Society: A Banking Perspective. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1992.
Davies John K. Athenian Propertied Families: 600-300 BC. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1971.
Davies John K.. Wealth and the Power of Wealth in Classical Athens. New York: Arno Press, 1981.
Finley Moses I. Studies in Land and Credit in Ancient Athens 500-200 BC. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1952.
Finley Moses I.. The Ancient Economy. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1985.
Fudenberg Drew, and Jean Tirole. Game Theory. Cambridge, MA: M.I.T. Press, 1992.
Gabrielsen Vincent. “Diadikasia Documents.” Classica et Mediaevalia 38 (1987): 39-51.Google Scholar
Gabrielsen Vincent. Financing the Athenian Fleet: Public Taxation and Social Relations. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1994.
Jordan Borimir. “Metic Trierarchs.” The Ancient History Bulletin 15 no. 3 (2001): 131-34.Google Scholar
Lyttkens Carl H. “Effects of the Taxation of Wealth in Athens in the Fourth Century B.C.” Scandinavian Economic History Review 40, no. 2 (1992): 3-20.Google Scholar
Lyttkens Carl H.. “A Rational-Actor Perspective on the Origin of Liturgies in Ancient Greece.” Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics 153 (1997): 462-83.Google Scholar
Millett Paul “Maritime Loans and the Structure of Credit in Fourth-Century Athens.” In Trade in the Ancient Economy, edited by Peter Garnsey, Keith Hop-kins, and C. R. Whittaker, 36-52, 186-89. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1983.
Osborne Robin. Demos: The Discovery of Classical Attika. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985.
Rahe Paul A. “The Primacy of Politics in Classical Greece.” American Historical Review 89 (1984): 265-93.Google Scholar
Rosivach Vincent J. “Manning the Athenian Fleet.” American Journal of Ancient History 10, no. 1 (1985): 41-66.Google Scholar
Shipton Kirsty. Leasing and Lending: The Cash Economy in Fourth-Century BC Athens. London: Institute of Classical Studies, School of Advanced Study, University of London, 2000.
Silverman David L. “The Trierarchy and Athenian Civic Identity.” Ph.D. diss., Uni-versity of California, Berkeley, 1994.
Traill John S. The Political Organization of Attica. Princeton, NJ: American School of Classical Studies at Athens, 1975.
Wallinga H. T. Ships and Sea-Power before the Great Persian War: The Ancestry of the Ancient Trireme. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1993.
Whitehead David. “Competitive Outlay and Community Profit: ? in Democratic Athens.” Classica et Mediaevalia 34 (1983): 55-74.Google Scholar
Whitehead David. The Demes of Attica 508/7-CA.250 BC. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1986.
Wilson Peter. The Athenian Institution of the Khoregia: The Chorus, the City, and the Stage. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000.

LITERARY TEXTS

Aristotle. Athenaion Politeia: 21.2, 22.7
Demosthenes. 4. First Phillipic: 21, 36
Demosthenes. 14. On the Symmories: 16
Demosthenes. 21. Against Meidias: 78
Demosthenes. 42. Against Phainippus: 25
Herodotus. 7.144
Thucydides. 1.14, 1.74, 1.112, 8.1.

EPIGRAPHICAL TEXTS

Inscriptiones Graecae
II2: 1604–1632
II2: 1928–1932