Trust relations reduce to iteration, institutions, and third-party mediation

Evidence

If we consider all the trust relations we experience, we find that a large fraction of them fall into three categories: relationships or interactions that are iterated, those that are backed up by institutions, and those that are mediated by other (noninstitutional) third parties. — Russell Hardin, Trust and Trustworthiness, 155

Categorization

• DEFINE: Provides the taxonomy of trust relations that structures the rest of the book: iterated interactions, institutional backup, and third-party mediation.
• XREF: Connects to Milgrom’s law-merchant analysis, where iteration, institutional backup (private judges), and third parties solve reputation problems. — connects to: The trading platform infrastructure itself shapes whether trust relationships emerge — Karin Knorr Cetina & Urs Bruegger, Global Microstructures: The Virtual…, 132