We know that the absence of trust in business has a devastating effect: a high expected probability of being cheated (of being saddled with a 'lemon') may lead to the non-emergence or even to the collapse of market exchange, especially in those cases where asymmetric information - concerning the quality of the goods exchanged - is relevant (Akerlof 1970; Dasgupta, this volume). Within the cluster of people they protect, mafiosi offer a peculiar solution to the problem raised by the market of 'lemons'.

XREF: Connects to Akerlof's 1970 'market for lemons' theory on asymmetric information in markets.

Diego Gambetta, Trust - Making and Breaking…, loc. 2229