Social code of the economy: how invisible connections and norms determine material success

The article substantiates the thesis that the functioning of economic systems cannot be understood without deciphering their “social code” — a set of informal rules, trust networks, cultural norms, and power relations in which formal economic institutions are rooted. Examples from various spheres of economic life demonstrate how the “social code” influences career trajectories, consumer choice, trust in money, and market efficiency. The article draws on the theoretical apparatus of the new economic sociology (M. Granovetter, V. Zelizer) and the neo-institutional approach.