Building a Market: From Personal to Impersonal Exchange

Document Type

Book

Publication Date

2008

Abstract

Adam Smith identified two key components in the wealth creation process of human societies: exchange and specialization. More than two centuries later relatively little is understood about the underlying process by which people build exchange systems and discover comparative advantage. In this chapter we report on a pilot experiment that explores the social mainsprings that give rise to the market. Specifically, using cash-motivated participants we compare and contrast the personal, social interactions within a village with those of the participants engaged in long-distance trade among a system of interconnected virtual villages.

Comments

In Paul J. Zak (Ed.), Moral Markets: The Critical Role of Values in the Economy.

The link above is to the authoritative publisher’s version, as noted by the Economic Science Institute, and may reside behind a paywall. An open access version of the accepted paper is available here.

Peer Reviewed

1

Copyright

Princeton University Press

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