economy

black market - definition, concept and what it is

Black is a term that is often associated with others for the purpose of forming specific concepts. Thus, we talk about black humor, the black sheep, the black plague, the black list or the black market. Generally, the adjective black serves to qualify something negatively. This is because the color black has an important symbolic charge in our culture.

The concept of black market refers to economic activity that is outside the law. In other words, there is a black market because there is another market that is legal. An economic activity is legal when it meets a series of requirements (payment of taxes, licenses, permits and a long list of conditions and requirements). In this way, when an activity is not legal, we can refer to it in several ways: illegal trade, piracy, clandestine sale and others. The black market concept is used as a synonym for underground economy, that is, an economic activity that is not governed by the same rules and criteria as legal activity.

The impact of the black market on the economy

The black market can exist in relation to any type of productive or commercial activity (from the textile industry, from the sale of weapons, jewelry, tobacco, alcohol, to the one in relation to currency exchange ...). From the point of view of the consumer who buys a product or service on the black market, there is the advantage of paying a lower price than the official one (a very common example is that related to alcohol, which is usually expensive in the legal market and cheaper in the black economy).

Despite this apparent advantage, the black market entails a whole series of drawbacks: the consumer has no guarantee of the product or service they consume, the state stops collecting taxes, and there is an increase in criminal activity. All these consequences end up having a negative impact on the economy of a country as a whole.

Fighting the black market

If we talk about the black market, we must remember that this type of activity is part of organized crime and that it is a global phenomenon. It is not easy to end the complex network of any illegal commercial activity, since on many occasions the black market feeds many people who have no other alternative. On the other hand, the mafias that operate in any black market are very powerful and the police means to combat them are not always enough.

Photos: iStock - Petmal / Anne-Louise Quarfoth

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