How Institutions Facilitated the Operation of Markets in the Prisoners of War Camps
1. Briefly discuss how institutions facilitated the operation of markets in the P.O.W. camp.
Institutions are made up of (and by) individuals and function based on the collective individuals' need to maximize utility. Therefore, similar economic and social hierarchies and institutions exist in both prison and the outside world. We have identified three major categories of societal institutions found in the Oflag P.O.W. camp, which individually, and by interacting with each other, guide the development of the economic market. These institutions can be categorized by the manner in which they originate and facilitate societal functioning. Three major institutions found to facilitate markets in Oflag are social, economic, and political institutions.
The man-made institutions that most directly facilitated the operations of the markets were the social and economic institutions. Because provisions were allocated without regard to individual needs and demands, trade was immediately necessary. The P.O.W.s initially established Exchange and Mart notice boards, which created an open trading market, and this provided a semi-permanent paper trial of various commodities' past and current asking/selling prices, relative to cigarettes. Cigarettes became the established currency, and over time, a general consensus was established. Understandably, in camps with high level of institutional organization, there was an almost fixed cost associated with each good, and in less-organized camps where no notice board existed, such as transit camps, prices varied widely.
As business practices progressed and market norms became more defined, so did the individual's entrepreneurial inclination. A man who sold coffee and tea could hire laborer and an accountant to facilitate his operation. Laundrymen would wash clothes in return for a certain number of cigarettes, despite the current supply of cigarettes in the market. The role of middlemen and professional traders emerged, and people could
Institutions are made up of (and by) individuals and function based on the collective individuals' need to maximize utility. Therefore, similar economic and social hierarchies and institutions exist in both prison and the outside world. We have identified three major categories of societal institutions found in the Oflag P.O.W. camp, which individually, and by interacting with each other, guide the development of the economic market. These institutions can be categorized by the manner in which they originate and facilitate societal functioning. Three major institutions found to facilitate markets in Oflag are social, economic, and political institutions.
The man-made institutions that most directly facilitated the operations of the markets were the social and economic institutions. Because provisions were allocated without regard to individual needs and demands, trade was immediately necessary. The P.O.W.s initially established Exchange and Mart notice boards, which created an open trading market, and this provided a semi-permanent paper trial of various commodities' past and current asking/selling prices, relative to cigarettes. Cigarettes became the established currency, and over time, a general consensus was established. Understandably, in camps with high level of institutional organization, there was an almost fixed cost associated with each good, and in less-organized camps where no notice board existed, such as transit camps, prices varied widely.
As business practices progressed and market norms became more defined, so did the individual's entrepreneurial inclination. A man who sold coffee and tea could hire laborer and an accountant to facilitate his operation. Laundrymen would wash clothes in return for a certain number of cigarettes, despite the current supply of cigarettes in the market. The role of middlemen and professional traders emerged, and people could