Nostalgic Economies: The Social Network of a Modern Farmers Market

• In Event: Economic Sociology Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Roundtable 7: Networks, Embeddedness, and Markets

Abstract

This study explores the networks and interactions of exchange amongst vendors at the Greenwood Farmers Market, a small suburban market outside of Los Angeles. Through examining vendor trade and interview data, I conclude that the informal exchange networks between vendors rely upon recurrent, proximity-based interactions, thus integrating vendors into a social network reminiscent of pre-industrial society. Vendor exchange, occurring when products for sale are traded between vendors, frequently occurs and relies upon a multitude of social factors such as social integration, reciprocity, and community strength. These social network characteristics are notably congruent with pre-industrial marketplaces where exchange was frequent and informal collective economies prevailed. While product exchange and vendor networks closely emulate social processes in pre-industrial society, they also highlight the effects of a sustained interaction-based community.

Author

• Ila Bell, Scripps College