The economy in which products have their base in information, as in the case with computer software, media and entertainment products and internet-based services, is called:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Weightless Economy
Option (1) Weightless Economy — Correct. The weightless economy is one in which products have their base in information, as with computer software, media and entertainment products and internet-based services. The global economy is no longer mainly agricultural or industrial in its basis.
Option (2) Closed Economy — Incorrect. A closed economy has little trade with the outside world and protects its market from foreign competition, as India’s laws did before 1991. The term is about trade with other countries, not about what products are based on.
Option (3) Liberal Economy — Incorrect. A liberal economy is one opened up by liberalisation, with the rules regulating trade and finance removed. It describes government policy towards the market, not information-based products.
Option (4) Market Economy — Incorrect. A market economy, as Adam Smith described it, is made up of a series of individual exchanges or transactions that create an ordered system. Any kind of product can be traded in it; the term does not single out products based on information.
Note: The concepts in Option (2) and Option (3), ‘closed economy’ and ‘liberal economy’, are not in NCERT (2025-26); explained here for the benefit of the students.
NCERT (2025-26): “d. The Weightless Economy or Knowledge Economy … In contrast to previous eras, the global economy is no longer primarily agricultural or industrial in its basis. The weightless economy is one in which products have their base in information, as in the case with computer software, media and entertainment products and internet-based services. A knowledge economy is one in which much of the workforce is involved not in the physical production or distribution of material goods, but in their design, development, technology, marketing, sale and servicing.…” |