Economic historians have recently treated Islamic institutions as “growth retarding,” “averse to change,” “path dependent,” “lacking creative destruction” and “extractive” rather than “inclusive” and blamed their failure to change for the underdevelopment of the Middle East. This paper argues for a different approach to Islamic institutions which implies that they boosted economic growth. The paper explores changes in economic structures, a transition in population levels from high to low and a transition to individual property rights and provides economic indicators of growth. Articulated via Islamic law, legally sanctioned birth control and women's property rights were instrumental in assuring low fertility rates and equitable and well-distributed income in the population. The paper concludes theoretically and empirically that Islamic institutions were innovative, amenable to change and efficient.

中文翻译：

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伊斯兰中东 700-1500 年的结构变化和经济发展：人口水平和财产权

经济历史学家最近将伊斯兰制度视为“阻碍增长”、“不愿改变”、“依赖路径”、“缺乏创造性破坏”和“榨取式”而不是“包容性”，并将伊斯兰制度的失败归咎于中东的不发达东方。本文主张对伊斯兰制度采取不同的方法，这意味着它们促进了经济增长。本文探讨了经济结构的变化、人口水平从高到低的转变以及向个人财产权的转变，并提供了经济增长指标。通过伊斯兰法律阐明，法律认可的节育和妇女的财产权有助于确保低生育率和人口中公平和分配良好的收入。