TRUST, CONTRACTS AND ECONOMIC COOPERATION

This review of economists' theories about incomplete contracts (proper ty rights, the costs of transactions or a ''reputation model'') shows that the defenders of orthodox economic theory do not consider the not ion of trust to be a pertinent analytical category. In objection to th is, an approach is proposed that places trust at the center of contrac tual relationships. Several empirical studies conducted by the author in labor relations have shown that incomplete contracts serve less to define binding commitments than to create a framework wherein the appl ication of commitments can be (re)negotiated. This supposes that parti es to the contract trust each other strongly enough to be ready to bec ome involved in such a process.