Explaining the Persistence of Informal Institutions: The Role of Informal Networks

Abstract

The paper unpacks the “black box” of informal institutions and theorizes about the role of informal networks in channeling continuity and change in informal institutions. Specifically, we argue that the persistence of informal institutions depends on the functionalities of the informal networks upon which they rest. When informal institutions are enacted by informal networks that are “relatively affective” and “relatively closed,” their persistence is higher than the persistence of informal institutions that are enacted by “relatively open” and “relatively instrumental” networks.