Ibn Khaldun: Studies on His Contribution in Economy "When
civilization [population] increases, the available labor again
increases. In turn, luxury again increases in correspondence
with the increasing profit, and the customs and needs of luxury
increase. Crafts are created to obtain luxury products. The
value realized from them increases, and, as a result, profits
are again multiplied in the town. Production there is thriving
even more than before. And so it goes with the second and third
increase. All the additional labour serves luxury and wealth, in
contrast to the original labor that served the necessity of
life". In these words Ibn Khaldun (1332-1406 CE) addressed the
issue of economic growth in his influential book Al-Muqaddima
(The Introduction [to history]). Ibn Khaldun's reflection on the
economy, the sociology, and the material aspects of human
civilisation is well known to scholars, but was, until recently,
long forgotten in the history of economic thought. The
originality of his contribution is n