Efficiency of Markets.—A market's efficiency may be judged by different standards; that is, according as it attracts enough sellers of commodities to establish a fair price for buyers; accord ing as it attracts enough buyers to give sellers a fair price; and according as it produces enough revenue to make up-to-date maintenance worth while. In regard to the last point, it should be noted that the supervision which the feudal law expected the market owner to exercise, for preventing disorders, thefts and frauds, is likely—if markets are to survive in modern conditions— to be extended once more to the purity of food exposed for sale and, perhaps, to price control. Economically, it is obvious that all these standards should be interchangeable : failure in one must sooner or later bring failure in the others. This, however, is not always realized : in particular, market authorities are exposed to a natural and old temptation to treat a market as a source of revenue, forgetting that heavier charges than the trade will bear, or inadequate expenditure on maintenance, must lead to reduc tion of the concourse which is the market's object. No machinery exists for ensuring that markets are maintained as effective instru ments for their economic functions. In fact, their efficiency varies very greatly with the personality of the superintendent and the policy of the governing body—usually a special committee of the local authority. It might be thought, with this as with other public services, that public opinion would demand efficiency, but it has to be remembered that in England (as is said above) social developments have led a smaller proportion of the population to take a direct interest in the markets than does so in some other countries. Again, a market differs from many municipal services in that that section of its users (namely, the agricultural commu nity) which suffers most from inefficiency must in practice continue to resort to the market and so has not the economic weapon of withdrawing supplies. Moreover, a market is normally in a town, so that the agriculturalist has not the political weapon possessed by the urban electorate for compelling efficiency on the part of the governing body. Probably the most hopeful steps taken to this end have been the constitution of associations of market au thorities for exchange of information and as a channel of com munication with the Government, and the issue by the depart ments of Government specially concerned of various works of reference at popular prices, embodying particulars not formerly assembled. Increased co-operative effort among farmers and pro ducers generally has also, since the World War, led to pressure on market authorities to improve the facilities which they provide.
United States.—In America there has been an almost uni versal adoption of the market as an institution, but it has not been subject to the same traditions as in older countries. (a) It has not been established on charter or licensed as a grant to the owner or supervisor. (b) It has not been given exclusive privileges, but has had to prove its worth by meeting competition. (c) There has been little, if any, attempt to regulate prices in the American markets. Always these markets have been in keen competition with grocers, street wagons and, more recently, with wayside stands to which people drive in motor cars for their supplies.
Probably the most successful municipal market in America is the Pike Street Market at Seattle, Washington. In many ways it serves as a type of hundreds of others which are less extensive. The nucleus of this market is the Farmers' Markets, which con sist of a small plot of ground at the "dead" end of a street. Upon this are a number of open stalls, or booths, owned and supervised by the city, and leased from day to day to the farmers who bring in fruit, vegetables, poultry and dairy products, and sometimes even meat and fish. The stalls are assigned by lot so that no indi vidual will acquire a franchise right to a particular location. To these stalls heavily laden wagons and automotive trucks come early in the morning. Many of them cross Lake Washington on ferries owned and operated by the city, and built for this particu lar service. The toll on these ferries, like the rental for the booths,
is nominal. Having received an assignment, the products are quickly arranged for attractive display and the conveying vehicle removed to make room for others. The actual number of farmers and truck growers who sell through booths is small. But it forms a nucleus for the immense private market that has grown up alongside. This is composed of a series of buildings, so con structed that there are hundreds of booths of different sizes which are rented to small merchants who specialize in a limited number of articles. One stall sells nothing but fresh fish, but offers as many as 27 different varieties at the same time. Another special izes in eggs, another in radishes, turnips and carrots. Also a large number of manufactured articles are sold in the open the whole year, for there is no artificial heat, and few of the booths are wholly enclosed. The entire business is transacted on a cash basis. Farmers sell to the dealers primarily for cash, and the dealers "keep no books." Many of them do not have any accounting system whatever.
It is estimated that on the "best" days as many as ioo,000 people visit this market. Prices are uniformly lower than can be found in stores and shops, and the merchandise, especially food products, are offered in great variety and are of good quality.
This is the type of market that is everywhere found in the west ern part of America from Vancouver, B.C., to San Diego, Cali fornia. In San Francisco and perhaps a few other cities, the mu nicipality owns the chief market building and rents the stalls. Where the severity of winter prevents out-of-doors trading, as in New York city, the type of market building has to be changed to provide for artificial heat. The market in that city completed in the early part of 1929 cost nearly $15,000,000. But it is doubt ful if the number of people or the amount of business transacted will be sufficiently great to justify the original expenditure.
Many cities do not provide any buildings for markets, but set aside a plot of ground which is paved and partially covered with sheds for shelter. The one at Albany, New York, is of this nature. It is unusual in that it has its busiest hours in the evening. With these open markets the winter business is small, as there is little local grown produce offered in the cold weather.
In some of the larger cities, the open markets, or those that are provided only with such shelter as sheds, also have wholesale mar kets which operate the whole year through. The Water Street Market in Chicago, the Washington Street Market and the Sec ond Avenue Market in New York city are types of these. But for the most part, the wholesale business is strictly a private enter prise and resembles the municipal markets only in superficial appearance. In Southern cities such as Savannah, Georgia, the municipal market is so widely patronized that even in cold weather a considerable part of the population go there in the win ter to buy food and provisions.
It is obvious that cities of less than 30,00o will seldom provide sufficient business to maintain a market. It is also apparent that the saving in purchases must be sufficient to compensate for the transportation cost and the time expended in visiting the markets. When a city becomes so large and so congested that it is difficult to carry packages in public conveyances, the number of people who visit the market will be smaller. Dividing the city into dis tricts and establishing local markets is sometimes a remedy for congested, expensive or inconvenient transportation, but the es tablishment of a district market raises the difficulty of freight con veyance. It is quite as essential for the supplies to be transported at small outlay of time and cost as for patrons. Furthermore, the transportation systems of most large cities would not provide points of convergence where many markets may be easily acces sible to a large part of the population. See also FAIR ; EXHIBI TION AND TRADE FAIR.