Is There Such a Thing as a Perfect Market?

I had always thought that the ubiquitous Economics-class phrase perfect markets was just that: a phrase that did not reflect reality. After all, for perfect markets to exist we need perfect information, in real time, immediate; no participant with the power to set prices; no barriers to entry or exit. Well, I think I found the closest thing to a perfect market that I will probably ever find: minibus fares in La Paz. Perfect information? The "sidekick" of every minibus driver yells the fare out for everyone to know before they board (that includes other minibuses running the same route). As soon as one starts reducing or increasing fares, the others follow suit. This happens in a matter of minutes. No participant with the power to set prices? The only thing that exists is a ceiling on the fare set by the government (2.30 Bolivianos); other than that each driver and his sidekick decide the fare independently. No barriers to entry or exit? This I am not so sure about. Most minibus drivers belong to a syndicate, but I know for a fact that some do not. How easy is it to do this without belonging to a syndicate? I don't know. Perhaps I should chat with one of the drivers one of these days to find out.

Evo, Chicken and Gays

Some things the Bolivian president says linger long after he has stopped speaking. You may have read in the news last month about Morales's comment about chicken and gay men. It basically went something like this, "the chicken that we eat is full of female hormones. Because of this, when men eat chicken, they experience deviations from being men." (El pollo que comemos está cargado de hormonas femeninas. Por eso, cuando los hombres comen esos pollos, tienen desviaciones en su ser como hombres.) Of course, there was outrage from the gay community, and he has since had to apologize publicly for his comments several times. However, the more interesting thing is how this faux-pas has been adopted in the Bolivian vernacular. "Oh, I don't think you should eat that chicken," say my male colleagues to each other at work. "I think you may have had too much chicken lately," if you want to really annoy a macho Bolivian. "I'm going to stick to beef, thank you." And so forth.

The more shocking (but I guess not really surprising) reaction came from my colleagues one day. We were celebrating someone's birthday at work with the habitual mid-morning salteñas* and everyone was gathered around the table. The chicken joke came up as some people reached for the chicken salteñas. One of the directors (a woman) said to the guy making the joke, "Well, what about if someone among us is homosexual? How do you think these jokes would make him or her feel?" There was a very brief silence, and then people burst out laughing. The thoughts behind the laughter: Someone among us, homosexual? What is this, a joke? And so it goes. Instead of discussing such topics openly, people just hide their insecurity on the issue behind their laughter. 

Evo sure knows how to stir things up.

* Bolivian stuffed pastry, similar to empanadas, but better.