Recent Development of the Study on Traditional Markets

1967∼1976

Abstract

About ten years ago the writer reviewed in his two articles the study on periodical markets published untill then. However, through the last decade the study on traditional markets has showed a remarkable development. Then he intends again in this paper to review the books and articles published from 1967 to 1976. The review is restricted to seven main fields of the study, which are as follows;
Chapter 1. Origin of markets: the long-distance trade theory and the local trade theory.
Chapter 2. Explanation on the existense of periodical markets: by the economic location theory and through the social and cultural context.
Chapter 3. Periodicity and temporal arrangement of markets
(1) Experimental and theoretical works on market periodicity.
(2) Studies on the temporal arrangement of markets: presentation and tests of some hypotheses on market day.
Chapter 4. Market density and spatial arrangement of markets
(1) Some relations between market density and population density: correlation and threshold.
(2) The uniform pattern hypothesis on spatial arrangement.
(3) Spatio-temporal hypotheses: the consumer hypothesis and the travelling trader hypothesis.
Chapter 5. Moovement of traders and network of markets
(1) Mobility of traders.
(2) Paattern of trader's movement: it's types, optimam movement and market ring.
(3) Network of markets.
Chapter 6. Hierarchy of markets
(1) Hierarchy of markets.
(2) Spatial arrangement of the hierarchy.
(3) Internal structure of the hierarchy.
(4) Dual hierarchies: hierarchy of markets and that of urban settlements.
Chapter 7. Historical development of markets and its explanation
(1) Native origin or diffusion as an innovation from abroad?
(2) Evolution of market system through changes of ecological variables.
(3) Urban system and market system in historical process: joint or not?
(4) Continuance of periodical markets: in the developing countries and developed ones.
(5) Markets in future: for the developing countries and developed ones.
The writer also point out such notable tendencies of the studies on markets in the last decade as follows;
1. Striking increase of papers.
2. Theoretical development: criticism and modification to the classical models in early 1960s such as Stine's and Skinner's: and presentation of new hypotheses.
3. Elementary introduction of quantitative methods: the point pattern analysis, the network analysis and so on.
4. Incresing publications of experimental works and advocacy for “more field works!”
5. Co-existence of well studied area (for example West Africa) and little studied one (for example South East Asia).
6. Introduction of central place theory to the studies by anthropologists and sociologists.