The production path of a pair of Levi’s stonewashed 501 jeans
could have started in a Mississippi Delta cotton farm, continued
with a North Carolina fabric weaver, and included the Dominican
Republic and Haiti for cutting, sewing, and finishing. Then, the
jeans would have returned to the U.S. to one of countless retail
outlets, to a consumer, and maybe even to a recycled life
afterwards in some other country. Commenting on these
“production paths” economist Tim Harford says they ultimately
lead to economic growth but only if the path is preserved by
trust. The trust he refers to is primarily an institutionalized
trust. We “trust” that money will have a certain value. We
“trust” that a contract will be enforced. We “trust”
transactions that involve Visa and American Express. We “trust”
that we will receive a package that we order from Amazon.
Correspondingly, in economies where corruption and bribery
abound, economic development is constrained. Explaining why
Haiti has made little progress rebuilding its main