ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the analysis of the Fair Trade market from the perspective of institutionalism and Nobel laureate Elinor Ostrom’s concept of “governing the commons”. The Fair Trade market is first shown in the context of broadly understood institutions. It is explained that it exists, thanks to concrete institutions, and constitutes a new type of institution on its own. Next, it is argued that institutional economics and Ostrom’s concept of “governing the commons” constitute a kind of bridge between economic and social concepts of the market and that Ostrom’s contributions may serve as a useful basis for analysis of the specifics of Fair Trade market. Therefore, the third part of this chapter focuses on analysis of the Fair Trade market from the perspective of the “governing the commons” concept. It is explained, why it can be perceived as a special kind of “commons”, how Ostrom’s design principles may apply to Fair Trade market, and what lessons can be drawn from this analysis for better understanding of its specifics, resulting barriers and challenges of its development as well as for its self-governance.
