Alessandra Casella

Alessandra Casella, associate professor of economics at Columbia University, completed an analysis of the integration of small, self-governed agencies within large-scale, anonymous economic markets. Her work illustrated the importance of personal ties in the economy, focusing on two groups in the realms of public finance and international trade: local government agencies formed to provide specific public goods, and ethnic-based private trading companies. Casella demonstrated how personalized organizations act as an efficient response to specific economic conditions, while at the same time making possible further economic growth within the market system.