From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Traditonal marketplace. The physical arena where buyers and sellers meet and the traded items are present, ready to change hands. Ballard Farmers' Market - vegetables.

Virtual market arena where buyer and seller are not present and trade via intemediates and electronical information. Sao Paulo Stock Exchange.

In economics, the concept of a market is any structure that allows buyers and sellers to exchange any goods, services and information. The exchange of goods or services for money is a transaction. A market consists of all the buyers and sellers of a good who influences its price. This influence is the objective of economists and has given rise to several theories and models in economics concerning the basic market forces of supply and demand. There are two roles in markets, buyers and sellers. The definition implies that at least three actors are needed for a market to exist; at least one actor, on the one side of the market, who is aware of at least two actors on the other side whose offers can be evaluated in relation to each other. The market facilitates trade and enables the distribution and allocation of goods and services in a society. Markets allows any tradable item to be evaluated and priced. A market emerges more or less spontaneously or is constructed deliberately by human interaction in order to enable the exchange of rights (cf. ownership) of services and goods.

The historical origin of markets is the physical marketplaces which would often develop into small communities, towns and cities^{[citation needed]}.

Although many markets exist in the traditional sense--such as a flea market--there are various other types of markets and various organizational structures to assist their functions.

A market can be organized as an auction, as a private electronic market, as a shopping center, as a complex institution such as a stock market, and as an informal discussion between two individuals.

In economics, a market that runs under laissez-faire policies is a free market. It is "free" in the sense that the government makes no attempt to intervene through taxes, subsidies, minimum wages, price ceilings, etc. Market prices may be distorted by a seller or sellers with monopoly power, or a buyer with monopsony power. Such price distortions can have an adverse effect on market participant's welfare and reduce the efficiency of market outcomes. Also, the level of organization or negotiation power of buyers, markedly affects the functioning of the market. Markets where price negotiations do not arrive at efficient outcomes for both sides are said to experience market failure.

Most markets are regulated by state wide laws and regulations. While barter markets exist, most markets use currency or some other form of money.

Markets of varying types can spontaneously arise whenever a party has interest in a good or service that some other party can provide. Hence there can be a market for cigarettes in correctional facilities, another for chewing gum in a playground, and yet another for contracts for the future delivery of a commodity. There can be black markets, where a good is exchanged illegally and virtual markets, such as eBay, in which buyers and sellers do not physically interact. There can also be markets for goods under a command economy despite pressure to repress them.

The market can be divided into several types according to various functions. Most investors prefer investing in two markets, the stock markets and the bond markets. NYSE, AMEX, and the NASDAQ are the most common stock markets in the US.

Prediction markets are a type of speculative market in which the goods exchanged are futures on the occurrence of certain events. They apply the market dynamics to facilitate information aggregation.

A produce market in Banfora, Burkina Faso

A street market in Aix-en-Provence, France

• Farmers' market
• Financial market
• Grocery store
• Marketplace
• Market square
• Market town
• Market customization
• Market economy
• Market microstructure
• Media market
• Stock market
• Street market
• Supermarket

Marshall, A. (1961). Principles of Economics. C. W. Guillebaud, Ed. 2 Vol. London: Macmillan.

• Microeconomics by Robert S. Pindyck, Daniel L. Rubinfeld

Look up Market in
Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Qualitionary - Legal Definitions - Market
• The EU's Market Access Strategy in a Changing Global Economy