They were able to run a vast empire without the use of money or an internal market economy.

The Incas did not employ money as a medium of exchange or markets to trade, but they did trade with other countries. Local farmers in the empire worked the land, but they were only allowed to keep one-third of the harvest, with the other two-thirds going to the Inca government and religious authorities. All adult men in the empire were forced to undertake Mita or compulsory public service. Each person was given a specific profession based on their abilities; for example, a competent weaver was assigned to create fabric, while a good runner was assigned to be a charqui. Mita labor was used to construct the Inca constructions. Security, food, housing, clothes, education, periodic feasts, and technical assistance to boost agricultural productivity were all supplied in exchange by the Inca administration. Despite the lack of a currency and an internal market economy, the Inca economic system was extraordinarily successful in building and maintaining a vast empire. It is said that no one in the Inca kingdom went hungry.