While the first Club de Trueque was basically another case of social networks making market institutions, the second stage of the evolution of the Redes de Trueque in Argentina was undoubtedly unique. During the period between 1996 and 2002, the RT grew more than any other CCS in terms of scale, scope, regulation and geographical coverage. First dozens and then hundreds of CT emerged across the country, each one with their own rules and currencies but all integrated in a single network with a common regulatory body. This type of organization was unseen in the history of complementary currencies.

Increase in scale and scope of markets implies a transition from personal transactions to impersonal exchange. Commerce becomes more complex, giving birth to uncertainty and rising costs of trade generically known as transaction costs. The growth from personal to impersonal exchange demands more sophisticated institutions to reduce uncertainty and complexity. It implies a challenge on the efficiency of the system, its distribution of power and the inter-personal social relations on which it relies. Efficiency is defined as the minimization of waste, which includes costs of all types.

The analysis in this chapter starts from a small market, as the Club de Trueque was in the beginning. Transactions were embedded in a network where all traders knew and trusted each other and personal contact was enough to regulate economic action. However, as the amount of participants and the complexity of the exchanges increased, clearer and more transparent rules on an impersonal basis were needed. The making of those institutions demanded further innovations and intricate negotiations between the original organizers, the new leaders and the plain participants. How did this process take place? What drove the emergence of institutions of impersonal exchange? The word ‘Trueque’ is used henceforth to denote an economic activity, whereas RT addresses an organizational structure.

Costs and Benefits of Expanding the Market

Specialization and division of labour have made possible improved productivity arising from technological change, better resource allocation and specialized production, the key underlying features of modern market economies.