Market Analysis in Emergencies

What are markets? Markets are comprised of actors, institutions and policies that influence the production and consumption (hence the prices and quantities) of goods and services. A market for a single good can be extremely different from that for another, even if both goods are sold in the same physical market.
Market analysis is not a new phenomenon in the humanitarian world. It can be traced back to the early 1950s when some developed countries wanted to dispose of their accumulated food surpluses1. The recent emphasis on market analysis has been on its use in the relatively new modality of cash transfers, but it is relevant for all kinds of agency response. Understanding how markets are affected by crises and how agency response can both be informed by markets as well as impact markets is a fundamental part of continued development in systematic programme design.