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Economics

Path Dependence in Political and Economic Institutions

Quick fact

The QWERTY keyboard layout was designed in the 1870s to prevent typewriter jams, but despite the existence of faster layouts like Dvorak, QWERTY remains the global standard because path dependence made switching too costly.

Why this is interesting

Why does the world still use the QWERTY keyboard layout even though more efficient layouts exist? This same puzzle explains why entire political and economic systems get stuck in outdated paths.