Editing Path dependence (section)

{{Short description|Actions in the present are dependent on previous decisions or experiences}}
{{About|path dependence in economics and social sciences|a similar topic in physics|Path dependence (physics)}}
'''Path dependence''' is a concept in the [[Social science|social sciences]], referring to processes where past events or decisions constrain later events or decisions.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last1=Mahoney |first1=James |url=http://oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199270439.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780199270439-e-024 |title=Historical Context and Path Dependence |last2=Schensul |first2=Daniel |date=2006-03-16 |pages=454–471 |publisher=Oxford University Press |doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199270439.003.0024|isbn=0199270430 }}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Puffert |first=Douglas |title=Path Dependence |url=https://eh.net/encyclopedia/path-dependence/ |access-date=2022-03-10 |website=E-H.net |publisher=[[Economic History Association]]}}</ref> It can be used to refer to outcomes at a single point in time or to long-run equilibria of a process.<ref name=":2">{{cite journal |last1=Zhu |first1=Kevin |last2=Kraemer |first2=Kenneth L. |last3=Gurbaxani |first3=Vijay |last4=Xu |first4=Sean Xin |date=2006 |title=Migration to Open-Standard Interorganizational Systems: Network Effects, Switching Costs, and Path Dependency |url=https://doi.org/10.2307/25148771 |journal=MIS Quarterly |volume=30 |pages=515–539 |doi=10.2307/25148771 |issn=0276-7783 |jstor=25148771|s2cid=2182978 }}</ref> Path dependence has been used to describe institutions, [[Technical standard|technical standards]], patterns of [[Economic development|economic]] or social development, [[organizational behavior]], and more.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Baláž |first1=Vladimir |last2=Williams |first2=Allan M. |title=Path-dependency and Path-creation Perspectives on Migration Trajectories: The Economic Experiences of Vietnamese Migrants in Slovakia1 |journal=International Migration |date=2007 |volume=45 |issue=2 |pages=37–67 |doi=10.1111/j.1468-2435.2007.00403.x |language=en |issn=1468-2435|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name=":0" />

In common usage, the phrase can imply two types of claims. The first is the broad concept that "history matters", often articulated to challenge explanations that pay insufficient attention to historical factors.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last=Pierson |first=Paul |date=2000 |title=Increasing Returns, Path Dependence, and the Study of Politics |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2586011 |journal=The American Political Science Review |volume=94 |issue=2 |pages=251–267 |doi=10.2307/2586011 |jstor=2586011 |hdl=1814/23648 |s2cid=154860619 |issn=0003-0554|hdl-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Liebowitz |first1=S. |title=Encyclopedia of Law and Economics |last2=Margolis |first2=Stephen |year=2000 |isbn=978-1-85898-984-6 |page=981 |publisher=E. Elgar |quote=Most generally, path dependence means that where we go next depends not only on where we are now, but also upon where we have been.}}</ref> This claim can be formulated simply as "the future development of an economic system is affected by the path it has traced out in the past"<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hodgson |first1=Geoffrey Martin |title=Economics and evolution : bringing life back into economics |date=1993 |publisher=University of Michigan Press |isbn=0472105221 |location=Ann Arbor}}</ref> or "particular events in the past can have crucial effects in the future."<ref name=":0" /> The second is a more specific claim about how past events or decisions affect future events or decisions in significant or disproportionate ways, through mechanisms such as [[increasing returns]], [[positive feedback]] effects, or other mechanisms.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" />