Murat Birdal is Assistant Professor in the Department of Economics at Istanbul University. He received his PhD from University of Southern California in 2006.

'As the recent economic downturn has reminded us, debt crises have been recurrent events with extremely important consequences in financial history. In one of the well-known debt crises of the nineteenth century, the Ottoman government accumulated a large amount of external debt that grew beyond its ability to pay, and the Ottoman Public Debt Administration (OPDA) was established to deal with the problem. In addition to offering an economic analysis of this historical institution, this book on the OPDA is clearly relevant to today's debates on how debts should be restructured and how governments and other key players should get involved.' - Metin Cosgel, Professor of Economics, University of Connecticut; 'In contemporary historiography, the Ottoman Public Debt Administration is commonly viewed as a leading instrument of colonization. Astonishingly, no comprehensive study of the OPDA exists in any language, so this book will fill a huge void. It sheds new light on the period when much of the Middle East and Islamic world fell under European rule. In so doing it will influence a wide range of debates, including controversies over the merits of economic nationalism, economic globalization, and the proper economic role of Islam.' - Timur Kuran, Professor of Economics and Political Science and Gorter Family Professor in Islamic Studies, Duke University

• Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1. Theoretical Background 1.2. The Ottoman Public Debt Administration (OPDA)1.3. Peripheralization of the Ottoman Empire in the Nineteenth Century and the Role of the Ottoman Public Debt Administration1.4. Organization of the DissertationChapter 2: Ottoman Borrowing in the Pre-OPDA Period: The Path to the Decree of Muharrem2.1. Crisis of the Ottoman Finance and Reform Attempts2.2. Domestic Borrowing and the Financial Monopoly of the Galata Bankers 2.3. External Borrowing and the Institutional Reforms to Improve the Credit of the Empire:1854-18752.4. Ottoman Borrowing During the Default Period: 1875-1881 2.5. Ottoman Debt Settlement and the Decree of Muharrem Chapter 3: Coordination, Commitment and Enforcement: Making Sense of the Ottoman Public Debt Administration3.1. Debtor’s Dilemma and Mechanisms for Compliance3.2. Enforcement Mechanisms for Sovereign Compliance 3.3. Analytical Framework: Debtor’s Dilemma Reconsidered3.4. Implications of the Model3.5. Enforcement of Debt Contracts Before the OPDA: Understanding the Role of the CFB 3.6. Enforcement of Debt Contracts After the OPDA3.7. Ottoman Foreign Borrowing in the OPDA Era 3.8. Foreign Direct Investment after the Decree of Muharrem3.9. The OPDA’s Role in Foreign Investment in the Ottoman Empire Chapter 4: Organizational Structure of the OPDA and the Administration of the Indirect Revenues4.1. Organizational Structure of the OPDA4.2. Administration of the Five Indirect Contributions under the OPDA4.3. An Assessment of the OPDA’s Economic Performance Chapter 5: Tobacco Sector and the Régie Company5.1. History of Tobacco in the Ottoman Empire5.2. Administration of the Tobacco Revenues Before the Régie System 5.3. Establishment of the Régie Company5.4. Organization of the Régie System 5.5. Economic Performance of the Régie Company5.6. An Assessment of the Régie System Chapter 6: The Role of the OPDA in the Transformation of the Ottoman Economy 6.1. Summary 6.2. The OPDA’s Role in Risk Reduction6.3. The Dual Role of the OPDA6.4. Absence of Reforms in the Ottoman Empire6.5. Foreign Archives and the OPDA as Sources of Historical Information 6.6. Further Research

Murat Birdal is Assistant Professor in the Department of Economics at Istanbul University. He received his PhD from University of Southern California in 2006.

'As the recent economic downturn has reminded us, debt crises have been recurrent events with extremely important consequences in financial history. In one of the well-known debt crises of the nineteenth century, the Ottoman government accumulated a large amount of external debt that grew beyond its ability to pay, and the Ottoman Public Debt Administration (OPDA) was established to deal with the problem. In addition to offering an economic analysis of this historical institution, this book on the OPDA is clearly relevant to today's debates on how debts should be restructured and how governments and other key players should get involved.' - Metin Cosgel, Professor of Economics, University of Connecticut; 'In contemporary historiography, the Ottoman Public Debt Administration is commonly viewed as a leading instrument of colonization. Astonishingly, no comprehensive study of the OPDA exists in any language, so this book will fill a huge void. It sheds new light on the period when much of the Middle East and Islamic world fell under European rule. In so doing it will influence a wide range of debates, including controversies over the merits of economic nationalism, economic globalization, and the proper economic role of Islam.' - Timur Kuran, Professor of Economics and Political Science and Gorter Family Professor in Islamic Studies, Duke University

• Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1. Theoretical Background 1.2. The Ottoman Public Debt Administration (OPDA)1.3. Peripheralization of the Ottoman Empire in the Nineteenth Century and the Role of the Ottoman Public Debt Administration1.4. Organization of the DissertationChapter 2: Ottoman Borrowing in the Pre-OPDA Period: The Path to the Decree of Muharrem2.1. Crisis of the Ottoman Finance and Reform Attempts2.2. Domestic Borrowing and the Financial Monopoly of the Galata Bankers 2.3. External Borrowing and the Institutional Reforms to Improve the Credit of the Empire:1854-18752.4. Ottoman Borrowing During the Default Period: 1875-1881 2.5. Ottoman Debt Settlement and the Decree of Muharrem Chapter 3: Coordination, Commitment and Enforcement: Making Sense of the Ottoman Public Debt Administration3.1. Debtor’s Dilemma and Mechanisms for Compliance3.2. Enforcement Mechanisms for Sovereign Compliance 3.3. Analytical Framework: Debtor’s Dilemma Reconsidered3.4. Implications of the Model3.5. Enforcement of Debt Contracts Before the OPDA: Understanding the Role of the CFB 3.6. Enforcement of Debt Contracts After the OPDA3.7. Ottoman Foreign Borrowing in the OPDA Era 3.8. Foreign Direct Investment after the Decree of Muharrem3.9. The OPDA’s Role in Foreign Investment in the Ottoman Empire Chapter 4: Organizational Structure of the OPDA and the Administration of the Indirect Revenues4.1. Organizational Structure of the OPDA4.2. Administration of the Five Indirect Contributions under the OPDA4.3. An Assessment of the OPDA’s Economic Performance Chapter 5: Tobacco Sector and the Régie Company5.1. History of Tobacco in the Ottoman Empire5.2. Administration of the Tobacco Revenues Before the Régie System 5.3. Establishment of the Régie Company5.4. Organization of the Régie System 5.5. Economic Performance of the Régie Company5.6. An Assessment of the Régie System Chapter 6: The Role of the OPDA in the Transformation of the Ottoman Economy 6.1. Summary 6.2. The OPDA’s Role in Risk Reduction6.3. The Dual Role of the OPDA6.4. Absence of Reforms in the Ottoman Empire6.5. Foreign Archives and the OPDA as Sources of Historical Information 6.6. Further Research