This project supports the dissertation research of a cultural anthropologist from the University of California-Davis. The student will study the night markets in Taiwan, a local institution of street markets providing inexpensive prepared foods and consumer items to urban residents. The project will study the history of the markets and the role of government regulations on their behavior, as well as the meaning of the markets in the lives of urban residents. It is a study in the "informal economy" of a dynamic and productive society. Methods include surveys of the markets, intensive interviews with marketers on their life histories, examination of historical documents, and survey interviews with marketers and customers. This project is important because the informal sector of developing economies is not well understood, and this case study of a dynamic informal market institution in a growing economy will help build theory on how to achieve and sustain economic development while providing a high level of consumer service to urban residents.
