Contract enforceability and economic institutions in early trade: The Maghribi Traders' Coalition

摘要: This paper presents an economic institution which enabled eleventh-century traders to benefit from employing overseas agents despite the commitment problem inherent in these relations. Agency relations were governed by a coalition--an expectations, implicit contractual relations, and specific information-transmission mechanism supported operation of reputation mechanism. Historical records simple game-theoretical model are used examine this institution. The study highlights interaction between social institutions, determinants business practices, nature merchants' law, interrelations market nonmarket institutions. Copyright 1993 American Economic Association.