Definition of Market Economy
(noun) An economic system in which most goods and services are voluntarily produced, distributed, and exchanged by the forces of price, supply, and demand.
Market Economy Pronunciation
Syllabification: mar·ket e·con·o·my
Audio Pronunciation
Phonetic Spelling
- American English – /mAHR-kuht i-kAHn-uh-mee/
- British English – /mAHk-it i-kOn-uh-mee/
International Phonetic Alphabet
- American English – /ˈmɑrkət ɪˈkɑnəmi/
- British English – /ˈmɑːkɪt i(ː)ˈkɒnəmi/
Usage Notes
- Plural: market economies
- The opposite of a market economy is a command economy and the combination of the two is a mixed economy.
- Also called:
- capitalist economy
- free enterprise
- laissez-faire economy
- private enterprise
Related Video
Additional Information
- Economic Sociology Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
- Word origin of “market” and “economy” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com
Related Terms
- allocation of resources
- capitalism
- class
- distribution
- division of labor
- economic system
- economy
- good
- production
- service
- wealth
Works Consulted
Oxford University Press. (N.d.) Oxford Dictionaries. (https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/).
Ravelli, Bruce, and Michelle Webber. 2016. Exploring Sociology: A Canadian Perspective. 3rd ed. Toronto: Pearson.
Scott, John, and Gordon Marshall. 2005. A Dictionary of Sociology. New York: Oxford University Press.
Stewart, Paul, and Johan Zaaiman, eds. 2015. Sociology: A Concise South African Introduction. Cape Town: Juta.
Cite the Definition of Market Economy
ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “market economy.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved May 29, 2023 (https://sociologydictionary.org/market-economy/).
APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)
market economy. (2013). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/market-economy/
Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “market economy.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed May 29, 2023. https://sociologydictionary.org/market-economy/.
MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)
“market economy.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2013. Web. 29 May. 2023. <https://sociologydictionary.org/market-economy/>.