Ho, Benjamin; Huffman, David --- "Trust and the law" [2018] ELECD 220; in Teitelbaum, C. Joshua; Zeiler, Kathryn (eds), "Research Handbook on Behavioral Law and Economics" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2018) 294

Book Title: Research Handbook on Behavioral Law and Economics

Editor(s): Teitelbaum, C. Joshua; Zeiler, Kathryn

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN: 9781849805674

Section: Chapter 11

Section Title: Trust and the law

Author(s): Ho, Benjamin; Huffman, David

Number of pages: 25

Abstract/Description:

Understanding the nature of trust has substantial implications for thinking about the economics of law. In this chapter the authors consider the interaction between laws and trust. They pursue this inquiry by looking at the growth of the behavioral economics and organizational economics literatures. After describing a model of trust, the authors review results on the relationship between trust and growth from the development and macroeconomics empirical literatures. The chapter then turns to evidence from experiments that shed light on mechanisms that may link trust and the law and help us understand why in some circumstances they may be complementary and in others substitutes. The authors draw some preliminary conclusions about the factors that might contribute to explaining complementarity of trust and the law at the macro level. The chapter ends with a discussion of some specific laws, and how these interact with trust.