Henry Farrell

Trust, Institutions and Institutional Evolution: Industrial Districts and the Social Capital Hypothesis – with Jack Knight

Much current work in the social sciences seeks to understand the effects of trust and social capital on economic and political outcomes. However, the sources of trust remain unclear. In this article, the authors articulate a basic theory of the relationship between institutions and trust. The authors apply this theory to industrial districts, geographically concentrated areas of small firm production, which involve extensive cooperation in the production process. Changes in power relations affect patterns of production;the authors suggest that they also have knock-on consequences for trust and cooperation among actors.

Henry Farrell and Jack Knight (2003), “Trust, Institutions and Institutional Evolution: Industrial Districts and the Social Capital Hypothesis,” Politics and Society, 31, 4:537-556.

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Other Writing:

Chapter in an Edited Volume

“Cognitive Democracy,” in Youth, New Media and Political Participation – with Cosma Shalizi – eds. Danielle Allen and Jennifer Light

June 19, 2015 Chicago University Press: 2015 eds. Danielle Allen and Jennifer Light with Cosma Shalizi
In Parts I through III, we extended the definition of the political, acquired a richer view of participation, explored how to model and analyze partic-ipation broadly defined, and ascertained what sort of mechanisms to look for to understand public spheres in this context. As those chapters explored the specific experiences of individuals partic-ipating in hip ...
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Chapter in an Edited Volume

“Global Institutions without a Global State,” in the Oxford Handbook on Historical Institutionalism – with Martha Finnemore – eds. Orfeo Fioretos, Tulia Falletti and Adam Sheingate

May 2, 2016 eds. Orfeo Fioretos Tulia Falletti and Adam Sheingate European Central Bank historical institutionalism
Historical institutionalism has not yet grappled with the deeper intellectual challenges of “going global.” Understanding international, particularly global, institutions, requires attention to and theorizing of a global social context, one that does not rely on a national government in the background, ready to enforce laws and rules. It also requires theories about the global organizations ...
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