Mark Koyama

I am a professor in economics at George Mason University and Co-Editor of Explorations in Economic History.

Books

“How the World Became Rich” with Jared Rubin. Polity Press, May 2022 [Order at Amazon and Amazon.co.uk] Translated into Korean, Japanese, and Turkish.

More information and teaching materials at How the World Became Rich

“Persecution and Toleration: The Long Road to Religious Freedom” with Noel D. Johnson. Cambridge University Press, April 2019 [Order at Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk] [Website]

Religious freedom has become an emblematic value in the West. Embedded in constitutions and championed by politicians and thinkers across the political spectrum, it is to many an absolute value, something beyond question. Yet how it emerged, and why, remains widely misunderstood. Tracing the history of religious persecution from the Fall of Rome to the present-day, Noel D. Johnson and Mark Koyama provide a novel explanation of the birth of religious liberty. This book treats the subject in an integrative way by combining economic reasoning with historical evidence from medieval and early modern Europe. The authors elucidate the economic and political incentives that shaped the actions of political leaders during periods of state building and economic growth.

'A profound new argument about the relationship between political power and religion in the making of the modern world. If you want to know where the liberty you currently enjoy, for now, came from, this is the book to read.'

James Robinson, Richard L. Pearson Professor of Global Conflict, University of Chicago

'Johnson and Koyama investigate the fascinating intersection of the state and religion in late medieval and early modern Europe. Rather than enduring patterns of religious toleration or persecution, of liberty or tyranny, they tell a rich history of change and variation in rules, institutions, and societies. This is an important and persuasive book.'

John Joseph Wallis, Mancur Olson Professor of Economics, University of Maryland, College Park

'Lucidly written, incisively argued, this book shows how religious toleration emerged not only from ideas, but also from institutions which motivated people - especially the powerful - to accept and act on those ideas. A brilliant account of early modern Europe's transition from identity-based privileges to open markets and impartial governance.'

Sheilagh Ogilvie, University of Cambridge

'This analysis of the historical process underlying the modern state formation is a fantastic scholarly accomplishment. The implications for the present, in terms of the risks associated to the loss of the core liberal values of modern western states, will not be lost to the careful reader.'

Alberto Bisin, New York University

Reviews

“Religion and Discrimination: A Review Essay of Persecution and Toleration: The Long Road to Religious Freedom ” Journal of Economic Literature, by Syria Iyer [Published Version] [PDF]

“The state, religion, and freedom: a review essay of Persecution & toleration ” Review of Austrian Economics, by Metin Cosgel [Published Version] [PDF]

“A Review of Persecution and Toleration: The Long Road to Religious Freedom ” Journal of Economic History, by Eric Chaney [JEH]

“A Review of Persecution and Toleration: The Long Road to Religious Freedom ” Public Choice, by Vincent Geloso [Public Choice]

“A Review of Persecution and Toleration: The Long Road to Religious Freedom ” EH.Net, by Jared Rubin [EH.Net]

Selected Papers & Working Papers

“Rents and Reformation” with Desiree Desierto and Marcus Shera [SSRN] [CEPR ]

“Magna Carta” with Desiree Desierto and Jacob Hall [SSRN][CEPR ]

“Castles” with Desiree Desierto. European Economic Review. Forthcoming. [PDF] [Published Article]

“The Political Power of Civil Society” with Desiree Desierto. The Journal of Comparative Economics. Forthcoming. [PDF] [Published Article]

“Feudal Political Economy” with Desiree Desierto. Economic Theory Vol. 80, 619-658, 2025. [PDF] [Published Article] [SSRN] [BibTeX]

“Resisting Education” with Jean-Paul Carvalho and Cole Williams. The Journal of the European Economic Association Vol. 22, issue 6, December 2024, pp 2549–2597 [PDF] [Published Article] [SSRN] [BibTeX]

“The Political Economy of Status Competition: Sumptuary Laws in Preindustrial Europe” with Desiree Desierto The Journal of Economic History Vol. 84, issue 2, pp 479-512. [PDF] [Published Article] [SSRN] [BibTeX]

“Shipwrecked by Rents” with Fernando Arteaga and Desiree Desierto. The Journal of Development Economics Vol. 168. May 2024, 103240 [PDF] [Published Article] [Vox talks Podcast] [Vox Article] [Planet Money] [SSRN][CEPR] [BibTeX]

“The Fractured Land Hypothesis” with Jesús Fernández-Villaverde, Youhong Lin, and Tuan-Hwee Sng. Quarterly Journal of Economics Vol. 138, Issue 2. May, 2023, pp. 1173-1231. [PDF] [Published Article][SSRN][Long Presentation] [Short Presentation] [BibTeX]

“The Economic Impact of the Black Death” with Remi Jedwab and Noel D Johnson Journal of Economic Literature, Vol 60, Number 1. March 2022. [Published Article] [PDF] [BibTeX]

“Unified China; Divided Europe” with Chiu Yu Ko and Tuan-Hwee Sng International Economic Review, February 2018, Volume 59, Issue 1, pp 285-327 [PDF] [Published Article] [SSRN] [Slate] [The Upshot] [slides] [BibTeX]

“States and Economic Growth: Capacity and Constraints ” with Noel D. Johnson, Explorations in Economic History, April 2017, Volume 64, Issue 2, pp 1–20 [Published Article] [PDF] [BibTeX]

“Jewish Persecutions and Weather Shocks 1100-1800” with Warren Anderson and Noel D. Johnson Economic Journal, June 2017, Volume 127, Issue 602, pp 924-958 [Published Article ] [PDF] [ssrn] [VOX] [Foreign Policy] [Times of Israel] [Wired] [Tablet] [Israel Hayom] [Winner of RES prize for Best Paper Published in EJ in 2017] [BibTeX]

Work in Progress

“Feudal Rebellion” with Desiree Desierto.

“Salt and State-building” with Patrick Fitzsimmons.

“Adam Smith and the Rise of Towns in Medieval Europe”

Full List of Papers

38. “Castles” with Desiree Desierto. European Economic Review. Forthcoming. [PDF] [Published Article]

37. “The Political Power of Civil Society” with Desiree Desierto. The Journal of Comparative Economics. Forthcoming. [PDF] [Published Article]

36. “Analyzing the medieval church through an economic lens,” Public Choice Vol. 201, Issue 1. October, 2024, pp. 53-60. [Published Article] [BibTeX]

35. “Feudal Political Economy” with Desiree Desierto. Economic Theory Vol. 80, 619-658, 2025. [PDF] [Published Article] [SSRN] [BibTeX]

34. “Economic History as a Progressive Science” Essays in Economic and Business History Vol. 42, Issue 2, 2024 [Published Article]

33. “Religious Violence and Coalition Politics in History” with Desiree Desierto. The Journal of Historical Political Economy Vol. 4, issue 2, pp 281-309. [PDF] [SSRN]

32. “Resisting Education” with Jean-Paul Carvalho and Cole Williams. The Journal of the European Economic Association Vol. 22, issue 6, December 2024, pp 2549–2597 [PDF] [Published Article] [SSRN] [BibTeX]

31. “The Political Economy of Status Competition: Sumptuary Laws in Preindustrial Europe” with Desiree Desierto The Journal of Economic History Vol. 84, issue 2, pp 479-512. [PDF] [Published Article] [SSRN] [BibTeX]

30. “Shipwrecked by Rents,” with Fernando Arteaga and Desiree Desierto. The Journal of Development Economics Vol. 168. May 2024, 103240 [PDF] [Published Article] [Vox talks Podcast] [Vox Article] [Planet Money] [SSRN][CEPR] [BibTeX]

29. “Pandemics and cities: Evidence from the Black Death and the long-run” with Remi Jedwab and Noel D. Johnson, The Journal of Urban Economic Vol. 139, January 2024, 103628 [Published Article] [PDF] [SSRN] [BibTeX]

28. “The Fractured Land Hypothesis,” with Jesús Fernández-Villaverde, Youhong Lin, and Tuan-Hwee Sng. Quarterly Journal of Economics Vol. 138, Issue 2. May, 2023, pp. 1173-1231. [PDF] [Published Article][SSRN][Long Presentation] [Short Presentation] [BibTeX]

27. “Epidemic disease and the state: Is there a tradeoff between public health and liberty?,” Public Choice Volume 195, pages 145–167, 2023. [Published Article"] [PDF] [BibTeX]

26. “The Economic Impact of the Black Death” with Remi Jedwab and Noel D Johnson Journal of Economic Literature, Vol 60, Number 1. March 2022. [Published Article] [PDF] [BibTeX]

25. “Seapower,” with Ahmed S. Rahman and Tuan-Hwee Sng,” Journal of Historical Political Economy Volume 1, Issue 2. 2022. [Published Article]

24. “Medieval Cities Through the Lens of Urban Economic Theories,” with Remi Jedwab and Noel D. Johnson, Regional Science and Urban Economics [PDF] [SSRN] [CEPR] [Published Version] [BibTeX]

23. “Counterfactuals, Empires, and Institutions: Reflections on Walter Scheidel's Escape from Rome ,” The Journal of Economic Literature , JUNE 2021 Volume. 59, 2, pages 634-50. [PDF] [SSRN] [Preview] [BibTeX]

22. “The Institutional Foundations of Religious Freedom,” Journal of Economics, Management and Religion Volume 1, Issue 2. 2021. [Published Article] [PDF] [BibTeX]

21. “Health vs. Economy: Politically Optimal Pandemic Policy,” with Desiree Desierto Journal of Political Institutions and Political Economy November 2020. Vol. 1, No.4 pp. 645-669. [PDF] [SSRN] [Published Version] Earlier versions [CEPR][COVID Economics, vol. 41]

20. “Negative Shocks and Mass Persecutions: Evidence from the Black Death ” with Remi Jedwab and Noel D Johnson Journal of Economic Growth, December 2019, Volume 24, Pages 345–395 [PDF] [Published Article] [BibTeX]

19. “Geopolitics and Asia's Little Divergence: A Comparative Analysis of State Building in China and Japan after 1850” with Chiaki Moriguchi and Tuan-Hwee Sng Journal of Economics Organization and Behavior, November 2018, Volume 155, Pages 178-204
[PDF] [SSRN] [slides] [Video] [BibTeX]

18. “Plague, Politics, and Pogroms: The Black Death, the Rule of Law, and the persecution of Jews in the Holy Roman Empire” with Theresa Finley Journal of Law & Economics, May 2018, Volume 61, Issue 2, pp 253-277 [PDF] [ssrn] [Published Article] [BibTeX]

17. “States and Economic Growth: Capacity and Constraints ” with Noel D. Johnson, Explorations in Economic History, April 2017, Volume 64, Issue 2, pp 1–20 [Published Article] [PDF] [BibTeX]

16. “Education, Identity and Community: Lessons from Jewish Emancipation ” with Jean-Paul Carvalho and Michael Sacks, Public Choice, April 2017, Volume 171, Issue 1, pp 119–143 [Published Article ][PDF] [BibTeX]

15. “Unified China; Divided Europe” with Chiu Yu Ko and Tuan-Hwee Sng International Economic Review, February 2018, Volume 59, Issue 1, pp 285-327 [PDF] [Published Article] [SSRN] [Slate] [The Upshot] [slides] [BibTeX]

14. “Jewish Communities and City Growth in Preindustrial Europe” with Noel D. Johnson, Journal of Development Economics, July 2017 Volume 127, pp 339-354 [Published Article ][SSRN] [BibTeX]

13. “Jewish Persecutions and Weather Shocks 1100-1800” with Warren Anderson and Noel D. Johnson Economic Journal, June 2017, Volume 127, Issue 602, pp 924-958 [Published Article ] [PDF] [ssrn] [VOX] [Foreign Policy] [Times of Israel] [Wired] [Tablet] [Israel Hayom] [Winner of RES prize for Best Paper Published in EJ in 2017] [BibTeX]

12. “Jewish Emancipation and Schism: Economic Development and Religious Change” with Jean-Paul Cavalho Journal of Comparative Economics, August 2016, Volume 44, Issue 3, pp. 562–584 [PDF] [Published Article] [BibTeX]

11. “The Long Transition from a Natural State to a Liberal Economic Order ” International Review of Law and Economics, August 2016, Volume 47, , pp. 29–39 [PDF] [Published Article] [BibTeX]

10. “Monetary Stability and the Rule of Law” with Blake Johnson. Journal of Financial Stability, April 2015, Volume 17, pp. 46-58. [PDF] [Published Article] [BibTeX]

9.“Taxes, Lawyers, and the Decline of Witchcraft Trials in France” with Noel D. Johnson. Journal of Law and Economics, February 2014, Volume 57, Number 1, pp. 77-112 [PDF] [Washington Post] [Globe & Mail] [BibTeX]

8. “The Law & Economics of Private Prosecutions in Industrial Revolution England” Public Choice March 2014, Volume 159, Number 1-2, pp. 277-298, [Published Article] [PDF]
Joint winner of the Tullock Prize for Best Paper Published in Public Choice by a junior scholar

7. “Tax Farming and the Origins of State Capacity in England and France” with Noel D. Johnson. Explorations in Economic History January 2014 , Volume 51, Number 1, pp. 1-20. [Published Article] [PDF] [BibTeX]

6. “Legal Centralization and the Birth of the Secular State” with Noel D. Johnson. Journal of Comparative Economics November 2013, Volume 41, Number 4, pp. 959–978. [Published Article] [PDF] [slides] [NEP-HIS] [BibTeX]

5. “The Transformation of Labor Supply in the Pre-Industrial World” Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization February 2012 , Volume 82, Number 2, pp. 505-523. [Published Article] [PDF][FT] [BibTeX]

4. “Prosecution Associations in Industrial Revolution England: Private Providers of Public Goods?” Journal of Legal Studies January 2012 , Volume 41, Number 1, pp. 95-130. [Published Article] [PDF] [BibTeX]

3. “Evading the taint of usury: the usury prohibition as a barrier to entry” Explorations in Economic History December 2010, Volume 47, Number 4, pp. 420-442. [Published Article] [PDF] [BibTeX]

2. “The political economy of expulsion: the regulation of Jewish moneylending in medieval England” Constitutional Political Economy December 2010, Volume 32, Number 4, pp. 374-406. [Published Article] [PDF]

1. “Instincts and Institutions: The Rise of the Market” with Jean-Paul Carvalho, Advances in Austrian Economics 2010, Volume 13, pp. 285-309. [Published Article] [PDF]

Book Chapters

8. “Frank Herbert's Dune in François Bourguignon, Avinash Dixit, Luc Leruth, and Jean-Philippe Platteau's Economics and Literature: A Novel Approach. Routledge. 2025 ” [SSRN][Substack summary ]

7. “Institutional Change” with Desiree Desierto Handbook of New Institutional Economics Edited by Calude Diebolt and Mary Shirley Oxford University Press. 2025.

6. “Legal Capacity in Historical Political Economy” Oxford Handbook of Historical Political Economy Edited by Jeffrey A. Jenkins and Jared Rubin. Oxford University Press. 2023. [SSRN]

5. “Political Economy” The Handbook of Cliometrics, edited by Michael Haupert and Claude Diebolt, Springer 2020. [Draft]

4. “Economic History” The Routledge Companion to Jewish History and Historiography, edited by Dean Phillip Bell, Routledge 2019. [PDF] [Published Article to purchase the book]

3. “The State, Toleration, and Religious Freedom” with Noel D. Johnson, Forthcoming in Iyer, Rubin and Carvalho (Eds.), Advances in the Economics of Religion, 2018, Palgrave. [SSRN]

2. “Analytical Narratives” An Economist's Guide to Economic History, edited by Matthias Blum and Christopher Colvin, pp 371-378 [Published Article] [Published Article to purchase the book]

1. “Establishing a New Order: The Growth of the State and the Decline of Witch Trials in France” with Noel Johnson and John V.C Nye in Institutions, Innovation, and Industrialization: Essays in Economic History and Development, edited by Avner Greif, Lynne Kiesling, and John V. C. Nye [SSRN][Amazon]

Book reviews and Review Essays

21. “ Pox Romana: The plague that shook the Roman world By Colin Elliott," ” Economic Affairs, Volume 44, 2, June 2024, pp 460–463 [Published Article]

20. “ Are Economic Freedom and Political Unfreedom Compatible? A Review of Markets with Chinese Characteristics ” Econ Journal Watch, September 2024, Volume 21, issue 2, pp 426-428 [Published Article]

19. “Review of Stephen Broadberry and Kyoji Fukao's (eds) The Cambridge Economic History of the Modern World: Vol. I and II. ” Economic History Review, February 2024 Volume77, 1 pp 317-318 [Published Article]

18. “A Review of Hilton L. Root's Network Origins of the Global Economy: East vs. West in a Complex Systems Perspective. ” Public Choice, June 2021, Volume 187, 3-4, pp 533-535. [Published Article]

17. “A Review of Peer Vries’s Averting a Great Divergence: State and Economy in Japan, 1868-1937, ” EH.Net, May2020. Published Article]

16. “A Review Essay on the European Guilds.” Review of Austrian Economics, March 2020, Volume 33, pp 277–287
[SSRN] [Published Article]

15. “A Review of Nicholas Crafts’s Forging Ahead, Falling Behind and Fighting Back: British Economic Growth ” Economic History Review Volume 72, Issue 2 May 2019 pp 774-775 [Published Article]

14. “A Review of Daniel Ziblatt’s Conservative Parties and the Birth of Democracy, ” Journal of Economic History, Volume 78, Issue 2. pp.940-942. September 2018 [Published Article]

13. “A Review of From Warfare to Wealth: The Military Origins of Urban Prosperity in Europe by Mark Dincecco and Massimiliano Onorato. ” EH.net February 2018. [Published Article]

12.“A Review of A Culture of Growth by Joel Moykr ” The Independent Review Volume 22 Number 3. Winter 2018 [PDF] [Published Article]

11. “A Review of WTF?!: An economic tour of the weird by Peter T. Leeson.” Review of Austrian Economics March 2019, Volume 32, Issue 1, pp 81–84 [Published Article] [PDF]

10. “A Review of Economic History of Warfare and State Formation by Jari Eloranta, Eric Golson, Andrei Markevich, and Nicholas Wolf ” EH.net September 2017. [Published Article]

9. “A Review of The Great Leveler: Violence and the History of Inequality From the Stone Age to the Twenty-First Century by Walter Schiedel ” Public Choice Volume 172, Issue 3–4, pp 545–548. September 2017 [Published Article] [PDF]

8. “A Review of Ultrasociety by Peter Turchin ” Journal of Bioeconomics, Volume 18, Issue 3, pp 239–242. October 2016 [Published Article] [PDF]

7. “A Review of The Rise of Market Society in England 1066-1800 by Christine Eisenberg ” Journal of Economic History, Vol 72, 3, pp. 931-933. September 2015 [JEH] [PDF]

6. “A Review of the History Manifesto by Jo Guldi and David Armitage ” Journal of Economic History, Vol. 75, 2, pp. 584-587. June 2015 [Published Article][SSRN] [PDF]

5. “A Review of Rationalism, Pluralism, and Freedom ” Public Choice, Vol. 163, N. 3, pp/ 409-412, May 2015 [PDF]

4. “Preindustrial Cliometrics: A Review Article. ” Economic Affairs Vol. 33, 2, pp. 268-279 2013 [[Published Article] [PDF]

3. “Review of Timur Kuran’s The Long Divergence ” Public Choice Vol. 154, Issue 3-4, pp 341-343 March 2013 [[Published Article]

2. “Review of Douglas W. Allen’s The Institutional Revolution ” EH.net [Published Article]

1. “Review of James K. Galbraith's The Predator State. ” Economic Affairs Vol. 29, 1 March, 2009 [Published Article]