Is Market Systems Development Inherently a Resilience Approach?

Fueled by increasing uncertainty about the future as well as the need to protect development investments in the face of recurring crises, resilience has recently garnered much interest in the development community. Though many practitioners and donors are now struggling to operationalize and measure resilience, debate regarding how a resilience lens can be best integrated into development strategies continues.

Mercy Corps defines resilience as the capacity of communities in complex socio-ecological systems to learn, cope, adapt and transform in the face of shocks and stresses. One particular approach to resilience is through market system development.

Watch USAID's Microlinks video with Mercy Corps' Sasha Muench, Director of Economic and Market Development, and Eliot Levine, Senior Technical Advisor for Environment, Energy and Climate, discussing the relationship between market systems and resilience: