Institutions are important for proper economic performance, but are replaceable by trust or other social norms. We show that when proper institutions and trust are missing, integrity of the individuals can replace them. We construct a model of a transactions-based economy with contracts...

Recent studies have analysed the economic benefits of belonging to high-trust networks and the biological foundations of individual trust, but much scepticism remains regarding the precise role of trust in economic transactions, as well as gaps between micro and macro concepts of trust. This...