The term market participant is another term for

economic agent In economics, an agent is an actor (more specifically, a decision maker) in a model of some aspect of the economy. Typically, every agent makes decisions by solving a well- or ill-defined optimization or choice problem. For example, ''buyers'' (c ...

, an actor and more specifically a

decision maker In psychology, decision-making (also spelled decision making and decisionmaking) is regarded as the cognitive process resulting in the selection of a belief or a course of action among several possible alternative options. It could be either ra ...

in a

model A model is an informative representation of an object, person, or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin , . Models can be divided in ...

of some aspect of the economy. For example, ''buyers'' and ''sellers'' are two common types of agents in partial equilibrium models of a single

market Market is a term used to describe concepts such as: *Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand *Market economy *Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market *Marketing, the act of sat ...

. The term market participant is also used in United States

constitutional law Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as the basic rights of citizens and, in ...

to describe a

U.S. State In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

which is acting as a producer or supplier of a marketable good or service.

US constitutional law

When a state is acting in such a role, it may permissibly discriminate against non-residents. This principle was established by the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

in '' Reeves, Inc. v. Stake'', 447 U.S. 429 (1980), in which the Court upheld

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...

's right to give South Dakota residents preferential treatment in the purchase of

cement A cement is a binder, a chemical substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel ( aggregate) together. Cement mi ...

produced at a cement plant owned and operated by the state. "Nothing in the purposes animating the

Commerce Clause The Commerce Clause describes an enumerated power listed in the United States Constitution ( Article I, Section 8, Clause 3). The clause states that the United States Congress shall have power "to regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and amon ...

prohibits a State, in the absence of congressional action, from participating in the market and exercising the right to favor its own citizens over others." '' Hughes v. Alexandria Scrap Corp.'', 426 U.S. 794 (1976). In

Reeves Reeves may refer to: People * Reeves (surname) * B. Reeves Eason (1886–1956), American director, actor and screenwriter * Reeves Nelson (born 1991), American basketball player Places ;Ireland * Reeves, County Kildare, townland in County Kild ...

, 447 U.S. 429 (1980), the Court relied upon "the long recognized right of trader or manufacturer, engaged in an entirely private business, freely to exercise his own independent discretion as to parties with whom he will deal." "There are some limits on a state or local government's ability to impose restrictions that reach beyond the immediate parties with which the government transacts business." '' White v. Massachusetts Council of Construction Employers, Inc.'', 460 U.S. 204 (1983). "The limit on the Market Participant Exception is that it allows a State to impose burdens on commerce within the market in which it is a participant but allows it to go no further. The State may not impose conditions, whether by statute, regulation, or contract, that have a substantial regulatory effect outside of that particular market." '' South-Central Timber Development, Inc. v. Wunnicke'', 467 U.S. 82 (1984). "Downstream restrictions have a greater regulatory effect than do limitations on the immediate transaction. The State may not avail itself of the market-participant doctrine to immunize its downstream regulation of a market it is not actually a participant." Id. The most ubiquitous example of a service offered by the individual states is the operation of

public universities A public university, state university, or public college is a university or college that is State ownership, owned by the state or receives significant funding from a government. Whether a national university is considered public varies from o ...

. Because the provision of higher education is deemed not to be a

fundamental right Fundamental rights are a group of rights that have been recognized by a high degree of protection from encroachment. These rights are specifically identified in a constitution, or have been found under due process of law. The United Nations' Susta ...

, the individual states that have universities may charge higher tuition to out-of-state students. By contrast, discriminatory practices in the provision of essential public services, such as

welfare Welfare may refer to: Philosophy *Well-being (happiness, prosperity, or flourishing) of a person or group * Utility in utilitarianism * Value in value theory Economics * Utility, a general term for individual well-being in economics and decision ...

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

protection, and

primary education Primary education is the first stage of Education, formal education, coming after preschool/kindergarten and before secondary education. Primary education takes place in ''primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or first schools and middle s ...

, would violate the

Privileges and Immunities Clause The Privileges and Immunities Clause (United States Constitution, U.S. Constitution, Article Four of the United States Constitution, Article IV, Section 2, Clause 1, also known as the Comity Clause) prevents a U.S. state, state of the United Stat ...

, and discriminatory practices when the state is acting as regulator rather than market participant would violate the dormant commerce clause.

Investing

finance Finance refers to monetary resources and to the study and Academic discipline, discipline of money, currency, assets and Liability (financial accounting), liabilities. As a subject of study, is a field of Business administration, Business Admin ...

, market participants are traders or investors who buy and sell securities or commodities in a structured market.

US constitutional law

Investing

See also