Neutrosophic Multicriteria Method for Evaluating the Impact of Informal Trade on the “Mariscal de Puyo” Market

Abstract

When people from different backgrounds offer products and services to the general public without complying with the legal parameters that a business requires, they generate a phenomenon known as the Informal Trade. In the “Mariscal de Puyo” market, there has been a flourishing of the informal trade for the commercialization of basic needs, which is gaining space in the internal supply chain of Ecuador. Quantifying its impact on society represents a task little tackled by science. This research proposes a solution to the posed problem by developing a method to evaluate the impact of informal trade. The proposed method bases its operation on a neutrosophic multi-criteria approach. A case study is implemented with the purpose of measuring the impact of informal trade on the “Mariscal de Puyo” market.