STABILITY, SPECIALIZATION AND SOCIAL RECOGNITION

Robert P. Gilles (), Emiliya Lazarova and Pieter Ruys
Additional contact information
Robert P. Gilles: Department of Economics, Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA

Division of Labor & Transaction Costs (DLTC), 2007, vol. 02, issue 02, 83-109

Abstract: Yang's theory of economic specialization under increasing returns to scale (Yang, 2001) is a formal development of the fundamental Smith-Young theorem on the extent of the market and the social division of labor. In this theory, specialization — and thus, the social division of labor — is firmly embedded within a system of perfectly competitive markets. This leaves unresolved whether and how such development processes are possible in economies based on more primitive, non-market organizations.In this paper we introduce a general relational model of economic interaction. Within this non-market environment we discuss the emergence of economic specialization and ultimately of economic trade and a social division of labor. We base our approach on four stages in organizational development: a primordial stage of chaos; the emergence of a stable relational structure; the emergence of relational trust and subjective specialization; and, finally, the emergence of objective specialization through the social recognition of subjectively defined economic roles. In turn, this paves the way for the introduction of market institutions.

Keywords: Networks; stability; social division of labor; specialization (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C62 D E1 F F11 F12 F16 J2 J3 L O (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2007
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.worldscientific.com/doi/abs/10.1142/S0219871107000312
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers

Related works:
Working Paper: Stability, Specialization and Social Recognition (2006)
Working Paper: Stability, Specialization and Social Recognition (2006)
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wsi:dltcxx:v:02:y:2007:i:02:n:s0219871107000312

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from

DOI: 10.1142/S0219871107000312

Access Statistics for this article

Division of Labor & Transaction Costs (DLTC) is currently edited by Christis TOMBAZOS

More articles in Division of Labor & Transaction Costs (DLTC) from World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Tai Tone Lim ().