Traders colluded on client credit information and ostracized defaulters

Evidence

As partial defence against default, traders of a given commodity would stick together where possible and share information on their clients’ trustworthiness. They could also ostracize persistent offenders and avoid being played off against each other. — Diego Gambetta, Trust - Making and Breaking Cooperative…, 2326

Categorization

• XREF: Classic reputation/ostracism mechanism as substitute for formal contract enforcement—directly echoes Milgrom’s law-merchant and diamond-bourse trust systems already in the reader’s library.
• ADDENDUM: Directly relevant to the sacrifice article’s theme of group-sealed obligation if extended; more precisely it parallels the trade-institutions arguments.