Institutions and Economic Growth in the Late Ottoman Empire: A Quantitative Approach, 1820-1913

Abstract: This thesis studies the institutions and economic development of the late Ottoman Empire, examining whether institutions can explain the economic development of the regions and countries subject to it during the period of 1820-1913. The thesis aims to quantify the institutional determinants of geography, religion/culture, and political economy/interests, and it employs a semi-experimental approach of using inequality extraction ratios as an indicator for the political economy. Using quantitative data analysis, the study looks for evidence of the relationship between the named institutional determinants and economic growth. The results of the empirical study find little to no evidence that geography or religion had any significant relationship with economic growth, but they do find significant evidence that the political economy, defined as the inequality extraction ratio, did have a negative relationship with growth throughout the period in study. However, the limitations of the data and the methodology render the results open to question, and the thesis encourages ample research into the subject in the future.