Standardization as Economic Institution

New institutional work tends to emphasize or simply assume the need for metrological standardization in service of increasing economic efficiency. The first section of the paper quantifies standardization across a broad range of temporal, geographical, and material contexts, finding it typically weaker than is often assumed. The second section attempts to contextualize that variation by examining its consequences in various use contexts, particularly by appeal to the notion of degrees and types of reliance on standardization by various audiences. The final section assesses the consequences of these findings for broader theory. Inter alia, attention must be directed to a variety of dimensions along which behavior may be regularized, not just the mechanics of metrological standardization.