Given below are two statements:
Statement I: Buyers and sellers who exchange goods over the telephone or the internet can form a market, even if they never meet at one place.
Statement II: In economics, the term ‘market’ means an actual physical place, such as a village-chowk, where buyers and sellers meet.
In the light of the above statements, choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Statement I is true but Statement II is false.
Statement I: Buyers and sellers who exchange goods over the telephone or the internet can form a market, even if they never meet at one place. — True. A market is a set of arrangements for free exchange. Buyers and sellers can deal through telephone or internet.
Statement II: In economics, the term ‘market’ means an actual physical place, such as a village-chowk, where buyers and sellers meet. — False. The market in economics has nothing as such to do with a marketplace. A village-chowk is only one of the places where exchange can happen.
NCERT (2026-27): “1.3.2 The Market Economy … It is important to note that the term ‘market’ as used in economics is quite different from the common sense understanding of a market. In particular, it has nothing as such to do with the marketplace as you might tend to think of. For buying and selling commodities, individuals may or may not meet each other in an actual physical location. Interaction between buyers and sellers can take place in a variety of situations such as a village-chowk or a super bazaar in a city, or alternatively, buyers and sellers can interact with each other through telephone or internet and conduct the exchange of commodities. The arrangements which allow people to buy and sell commodities freely are the defining features of a market.” |