Definitions [4]
Define the term market.
The term ‘market’ refers to the whole region in which buyers and sellers are in close contact to effect the purchase and sale of a product.
In economics, the term market refers to the mechanism or arrangement by which buyers and sellers of a commodity are able to interact with each other for having economic exchange and are able to strike a deal about the price and the quantity to be bought and sold.
“A market is the set of all actual and potential buyers of a product.”, Phillip Kotler
“Market includes both place and region in which buyers and sellers are in free competition with one another.”, Pyle
“A market means a body of persons who are in intimate business relations and carry on extensive transactions in any commodity.”, Jevons
“A market is a centre in which forces leading to exchanges of title to a particular product operate and towards which and from which the actual goods tend to travel.”, Clark and Clark
Define the term oligopoly market.
An oligopoly is a market structure in which a small number of large firms dominate the industry. These firms sell similar or differentiated products, and each firm’s decisions (such as pricing or output) directly affect the others, making them interdependent.
According to Augustin Cournot, “Economists understand the term 'market', not any particular marketplace in which things are bought and sold, but the whole of any region in which buyers and sellers are in such close contact with one another that the prices of the same goods tend to equality easily and quickly.”
Define Marketer.
“A person whose duties include the identification of the goods and services desired by a set of consumers, as well as the marketing of those goods and services on behalf of a company”.
Key Points
- In common language, a market is a place where buying and selling occur.
- In economics, a market is any arrangement that allows buyers and sellers to meet (physically or virtually), decide a price, and exchange a commodity or service.
- A market can be local, national, or international.
- Essential elements of a market: commodity, buyers and sellers, area of operation, communication/contact, and price.
- There are two main ways to define a market: geographical (place‑based) and functional (activity‑based).
- Competition among buyers and sellers tends to produce one prevailing price for the same commodity at the same time within a market.
