Market and Non Market Activities

Market and non market activities both carry similar meaning. Both these activities are carried out by an individual in order to secure his or her needs and wants and the primary difference between these two types of activities is the nature of the products/goods traded.

Market and non market activities both involve individuals but the difference lies in who is facilitating the act of trading. Market activity involves an individual and a seller whereas non market activity involves an individual and a buyer. Market is essentially taken by an individual who is willing to accept payment for his or her good whereas market is not involved in Non market activity

Market Activities

Market activities are undertaken by an individual who is willing to sell its products/goods in order to obtain money. The individual accepts payment for the products and is therefore willing to sell. The seller will procure his or her product from other sources like production and private firms which he or she then sells using marketing tactics to increase sales.

Features of Market Activities

1. Market consists of both the seller and the buyer.
2. The seller is an individual whereas the buyer  is a non-individual.
3. Market is focused on function of consumption of goods/products rather than production.
4. Due to transactions of the market, value may be added or subtracted depending upon how much is sold by the individual. Similarly, value may be added or subtracted depending upon how much is bought by other individuals from whom goods have been procured. This adds and removes value in use and exchange.
5. Value added in this process is known as surplus or profit (meaning profit for the market participants). This profit will be calculated as total sales minus total cost in domestic currency of equivalent goods.

Non-Market Activities

Non-market activities are undertaken by an individual who is not willing to sell his/her goods. An individual would be unwilling to sell the goods/products since he or she is not willing to sell it. Nor would this individual accept payment in exchange for goods that he or she is not willing to buy.

Features of Non-Market Activities

1. Non market consists of both the buyer and the seller but not both of them simultaneously.
2. Buyer and seller of non market activities are both individuals.
3. Non market is focused on production rather than consumption of goods/products.
4. Value added in this process is known as surplus or profit (meaning profit for the market participants). This profit will be calculated as total sales minus total cost in domestic currency of equivalent goods.

Difference between Market and Non Market Activities

1. Market activity involves an individual and a seller whereas Non market activity involves an individual and a buyer.
2. Market is taken by an individual who is willing to accept payment for his or her goods whereas the market is not involved in Non market activity.
3. Market activities are taken at the centre whereas non market activities are always taken at the periphery of the economy.
4. Value added in this process is known as surplus or profit (meaning profit for the market participants). This profit will be calculated as total sales minus total cost in domestic currency of equivalent goods.
5. Market activity is focused on the function of consumption of goods/products whereas non market activity is focused on production of goods/products.
6. Due to transactions of the market, value may be added or subtracted depending upon how much is sold by the individual. Similarly, value may be added or subtracted depending upon how much is bought by other individuals from whom goods have been procured. This adds and removes value in use and exchange.

Conclusion

In this article, we described the difference between market activity and Non-market activity. The two terms involve different nature of products/goods traded which makes it more clear that what may be termed as non-market activity in one place can be termed as market activity in another place and vice versa .