The Integration of Periodic Markets in Mayan Guatemala: A Gravity Approach

Mayan towns in the Guatemalan highlands hold markets on specific days of the week. A market is attended by local townspeople, by peasants residing in the town’s hinterland, and by vendors bringing wares from other towns. A market functions to bring in goods from other ecological zones, to bring in goods from higher order centers, and to sell surpluses of locally produced goods. To understand how these markets are integrated, we develop a gravity model, examining the flow of vendors from 85 towns of residence to 15 market towns. In our model, the flow of vendors from one town to another is a function not only of physical distance, but of ecological complementarities, of linguistic differences, of road access, and of demographic endowments.