Reputation and Coalitions in Medieval Trade: Evidence on the Maghribi Traders
利用十一世纪的开罗藏经库文献，研究了地中海商人如何通过基于声誉的“联盟”制度，在信息不对称和合同执行受限的条件下组织远距离贸易。
This article examines the economic institution utilized during the eleventh century to facilitate complex trade characterized by asymmetric information and limited legal contract enforceability. The geniza documents are employed to present the “coalition”, an economic institution based upon a reputation mechanism utilized by Mediterranean traders to confront the organizational problem associated with the exchange relations between merchants and their overseas agents. The the oretical framework explains many trade-related phenomena, especially why traders utilized specific forms of business association, and indicates the interrelations between social and economic institutions.