The becoming of a market - A reflection illustrated by two case studies from Uganda

Schmidt, Oliver (2007): The becoming of a market - A reflection illustrated by two case studies from Uganda. Unpublished.

Abstract

This paper (9,201 words) argues that there is more to the becoming of a market than income-level of the buyer. A market is a fine webbed institutional setting that is worthwhile for economists to study. It argues that there are five characteristics to look at, namely demand, supply, and beyond the neo-classical model the ability to contract, the location (in space and time) to contract, and the purpose why the market was called into being. The interaction of these five characteristics shapes the development paths of markets. The framework is exemplarily applied to a commodity and a public good market, i. e. fish and minibus (“matatu”) services in Uganda, East Africa since the mid-1980ties.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Additional Information: The paper is based on a field work undertaken in June 2005 about the minibus-segment of Kampala's public transport market. The analysis is added as "Matatu Case Study". It was undertaken together with Regina Kamuhanda. The raw data set is available from Oliver Schmidt.
• Language: English
• Keywords: Institutional Setting; Path Dependency; Market Characteristics; Uganda; Fish Market; Public Transport Market
• Subjects: O - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth > O1 - Economic Development > O12 - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development; L - Industrial Organization > L1 - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance > L14 - Transactional Relationships; Contracts and Reputation; Networks; D - Microeconomics > D0 - General > D02 - Institutions: Design, Formation, and Operations

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