King's College London

Inclusive institutions play an important role in development. But how do inclusive institutions emerge? Inclusion is always the product of a tradeoff. The existing literature focuses on the tradeoffs that yield an extension of the franchise, which requires costly power-sharing agreements. This article uses evidence from ancient Athens to show that meaningful forms of welfare-enhancing inclusion need not await the historically infrequent and high-stakes conditions that compel dominant elites to share power. In the 4th century BCE, the Athenians extended access to economic, social, and legal institutions to selected categories of non-citizens. They did not, however, extend the franchise. The Athenian tradeoff between political and other forms of inclusion was a response to the conflicting demands of social order and growth. While falling short of full political inclusion, the tradeoff was nonetheless conducive to political and economic development.