We know that public markets can become the heart and soul of a community, its common ground, a place where people easily interact, alive with social and economic activity. But how can markets provide tangible evidence of their valuable direct and indirect economic impact?
One way is to conduct economic impact studies, which are often used to secure additional funding or support for many different types of organizations and businesses. For markets, these studies can measure economic impacts on local communities in quantifiable terms and make the case for greater support.
The potential economic impacts of public markets and farmers markets include direct benefits (e.g. profits to business owners in the market, job creation, sales and real estate tax revenues, etc.) and indirect benefits (e.g. stimulating development downtown, enhancing the park and waterfront as a place, farmland preservation, etc.). This section is specifically intended to provide a resource to markets wishing to measure their economic impact on the local economy. We provide two tools--one developed for PPS by Econsult, an economic research firm in Philadelphia, based on expenditures made by vendors (i.e., to produce the product sold) and management, and a second tool developed by Marketumbrella.org in New Orleans which relies on customer purchasing information.
These tools provide only estimates, however, and are subject to testing in the field--so let us know your results and suggestions for improving them: email us at info@pps.org. We hope they will provide some useful data that market organizers and sponsors can use to build greater partnerships with their local communities--and your help will allow us to sharpen them.
Comprehensive economic impact analysis is expensive and beyond the means of most public markets. Two tools are now available to help you complete a more cost-effective impact analysis, although the results are only estimates and will not give you the complete results a comprehensive analysis would provide.
Economic Impact Studies
The economic benefits of farmers markets, long discussed anecdotally, have been the subject of numerous studies. The following are highlights from some of these studies on the direct and indirect economic impacts of public markets and farmers markets:
Here is a selection of economic impact reports:
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