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 Past Research
 Research by U.S. scholars on agricultural marketing problems in developing

countries can be categorized into three broad groupings as follows: 1) descrip-

tive studies, 2) feasibility studies, 3) broader diagnostic assessments.

Descriptive Studies.

 Descriptive studies have been conducted by individuals from various social

science disciplines on existing arrangements for marketing specific commodities

or carrying out selected marketing functions. Most of these studies have been

carried out by professionals in academic institutions and their students. These

studies have provided useful factual information about existing marketing

arrangements but limited accessibility has been a major factor restricting

their use by government agencies and the private sector. In addition, many

of the studies done by economists and agricultural economists are based upon

conceptual perspectives of market organization dominated by the perfectly

competitive theoretical model of economics. And much of the research has been

concerned with issues involving the testing for conditions of structure,

conduct and performance predicted by the perfectly competitive model. A

major problem with this relatively static framework is that it underplays

the potential dynamic impacts of marketing institutions in achieving develop-

ment goals regarding efficiency, equity, growth and employment.

 There have also been useful and insightful descriptive studies carried

out by researchers that represent other social science perspectives. Geo-

graphers with their interest in the location of economic activities have

undertaken a large number of descriptive studies of marketplaces, periodic

markets and itinerant traders in rural areas of developing countries. This

research is important for the development process because it provides knowledge