ABSTRACT
We began this book with something of a conundrum: how is it that vendors and vending have survived, even thrived, through epochal changes in economy and society? In this conclusion, I argue that the answer is deceptively simple: merchants and markets are deeply embedded in all facets of the economic, political, and social. Thus, they shape and are shaped by the choice and chance variation found in each institution, in society, and in relationship to our broader environment (Companion, this volume). The deception lies in the vast variety of organizational forms produced by small changes in institutional contexts. Numerous variables critically impact vendors and vending. For instance, changing political variables create a more welcoming or hostile environment for merchants (essays in Part I). Or, if social variables such as household structure change, fewer or more people are present to help with business (essays in Part II). Finally, shifts in economic variables like the merchandise demanded, the local labor market, or the sources of merchandise influence whether businesses grow or fail (essays throughout the book). Changes in institutional (or ecological) variables motivate individual changes that produce organizational changes, in turn stimulating institutional responses.
