MEANING
A process in which earlier events or choices constrain later outcomes and make some trajectories persist.
Use it for
Earlier choices shape and constrain what can happen later.Use for institutions, technologies, or systems whose earlier development makes later change difficult or direction-dependent.
On the page
Path dependence left the rail network centered on a capital long after the main trade routes had shifted.
Related words
Word forms
- Base
- path dependence
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