MARKET TRADE IN DECENTRALIZED DEVELOPMENT: THE CASE OF CAJAMARCA,PERU *

Decentralized development views market trade and market towns as part of a comprehensive strategy to divert economic development away from major metropolitan areas. Seventy-one traders were surveyed in the central market of Cajamarca, Peru in 1981. Most are women earning minimal incomes, primarily because of price controls and expensive credit. Stimulating market trade as it is currently organized seems unlikely to assist migrants in secondary towns or to stimulate agricultural development in their hinterlands.