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Path Dependence
“An early choice can make repetition cheaper and every later alternative more expensive.”
01 / SUMMARY
In short
Path dependence studies how sequences, feedback, and increasing returns make institutional choices durable. Early moments and critical junctures can channel outcomes without determining them forever.
03 / SCENE
In the wild
An old administrative format persists because archives, training, and vendors were built around it.
04 / LIMIT
The limit
It does not make the first choice irreversible, and invoking history alone does not explain a mechanism.
FINAL NOTE
What remains
Find the investment or feedback that makes an inherited path easiest to repeat.