Question

In what ways is a market – such as a weekly village market – a social institution?

Answer 1

Though markets are places of economic interaction, since they are based on a particular social context and social environment, we can also regard them as social institutions where a specific kind of social interaction take place.

Periodic markets (or weekly markets) are a central feature of social and economic organization. They give a chance to surrounding villages to interact with each other while they sell their goods.

In villages, in tribal areas apart from regular markets, specialised markets are also organized where specific products are sold such as in the fair of Pushkar in Rajasthan. Thus, traders from outside come and also moneylenders, entertainers, astrologers and other specialists offering their services and products.

Therefore, these periodic markets just do not fulfil local needs, they link the villages with regional economies and sometimes national economies. Thus in tribal areas, they help in maintaining interconnections, which makes these markets a social institution.