ABSTRACT
The term market can refer to economic activity that is not confined to a single place such as a shopping mall or a Web site. The view of markets as an economic system underlies some of the most heated current debates in economics — where one side takes a "pro-market" view and the other side takes an "anti-market" view. The functioning of markets is facilitated by having enough members of a society subscribe to a common moral code and not betray one another's trust. The core sphere is made up of households, families, and informal community groups that undertake economic activities, usually on a small scale, and largely without the use of money. The public purpose sphere includes governments and their agencies, as well as non profit organizations such as charities, religious organizations, professional associations, and international institutions such as the World Bank and the United Nations.
