Markets are places where people come together to buy and sell things. The buying and selling of commodities take place under the market concept. A market is a collection of human associations, processes, systems, infrastructures or financial mechanisms through which individuals or groups of people engage in a transaction. Most markets, though, depend on buyers providing their commodities or services in return for payment, while others may be based on sellers only offering their commodities or services to potential buyers in return for money. Markets are a system of interaction that is characterized by the ability to sell or buy a specific commodity at a price. This article is an attempt to define markets and their effect on society.
Markets, as defined by the Merriam Webster’s dictionary, are “a market, a place, or instances in which things are bought and sold for a definite purpose”. Markets may be local, regional or global, and they provide a venue for economic activity to occur. In its most basic form, a market facilitates trade by allowing buyers and sellers to exchange commodities or services for a price. In a more complicated form, a market takes the form of a machine, like the internal combustion engine, that allows products to be moved from one location to another.
Markets are important because they allow individuals and organizations to connect with one another. Through markets, people are enabled to exchange and buy goods or services so that they can meet their needs. Without markets, people would have no means to meet their needs and that would lead to a reduction in living standards and an increase in poverty levels. Markets also provide the means for competition to occur. Competition leads to improvements in quality and quantity of goods and this results in a growing market economy, with both consumers and producers benefiting from increased production.
A few examples include markets in agriculture, construction, automobiles, transportation equipment, household goods, consumer goods, education, health care, energy, financial markets, health sciences, human resources, insurance, household goods, hospitality, jewelry, sports goods, toys, wheat and barley. The basic idea behind all these examples is that individuals have the ability to exchange and purchase goods and services, which lead to both profits for consumers and income opportunities for producers. However, markets operate in different forms at different times. At a pre-industrial time, production of many goods took place in a controlled environment. Production usually depended on the availability of raw materials and human capital (skill, knowledge, and money). With industrialization, increased capital and labor were introduced that made large-scale production possible.
Many examples include the retail market. In a retail market, consumers purchase the goods and then sell them to other consumers. Businesses operate between consumers and producers as a third party, selling goods to consumers and collecting payments from businesses for goods sold. Examples include supermarkets, retail stores, franchises, mall stores, video game stores, restaurants, department stores, hotels, motels, and bars.
Markets function for the benefit of buyers and sellers and never serve the public. While markets may sometimes cause winners and losers, markets generally reward people who make the most efficient use of resources and those who can best locate and deliver the final product or service to customers. While markets provide a forum for competitive pressures, they are not without constraints.