Social capital, trust, and the agribusiness of economics

Economists, including agricultural economists, have a long history of recog nizing the importance of the behavioral foundations in decision making whil e ignoring these observable human dimensions in their economic models. The economics of social capital and trust, two important human characteristics influencing decisions, have captured the attention of economists in recent years. Recent empirical work demonstrates that social capital and trust con siderations are prevalent and economically significant, especially in busin ess. Trust alters the terms of trade, generates decision flexibility, reduc es transaction costs, and creates additional time resources for management.