Paper short abstract:

The paper examines the barter transactions in Latvia. The focus is on barter shop “Tautas Veikals Tautai” in Latvia’s town Rauna. The shop is important social institution for people, but state has unclear legal regulation of barter deals.

Paper long abstract:

The article analyses the barter transactions and clients in the shop "Tautas Veikals Tautai" ["Shop of People for People"] (hereinafter, TVT), located in Rauna, north Latvia. Transactions in the shop are done only in the form of barter/, without the involvement of money. This paper investigates the reasons for the barter transactions to emerge and the role of the informal economy.

The shop plays significant role of a social institution in the society and illustrates the lack of the state to offer effective social aid for the society. There is also a lack of trust from the society towards the state institutions. Although there are no money used in the transactions, the individuals perception of money plays significant and important role in the transactions. Overall, the research makes possible to look on the barter as a socioeconomic phenomenon, which reflects the social relations of the society, leading to the unique form of the barter.