A black market or underground economy is the market in which illegal goods are traded. Due to the nature of the goods traded, the market itself is forced to operate outside the formal economy, supported by the established state power. Typically the totality of such activity is referred to with the definite article as a complement to the official economies, by market for such goods and services, e.g. "the black market in bush meat".
The black market is distinct from the grey market, in which commodities are distributed through channels which, while legal, are unofficial, unauthorized, or unintended by the original manufacturer, and the white market, the legal market for goods and services.
Worldwide, the underground economy is estimated to have provided 1.8 billion jobs.
Read more about Black Market: Background, Pricing, Consumer Issues, Size of The Global Black Markets, Organized Crime, Appearance and Disappearance, See Also
Famous quotes containing the words black and/or market:
“Mighty few young black women are doin’ domestic work. And I’m glad. That’s why I want my kids to go to school. This one lady told me, “All you people are gettin’ like that.” I said, “I’m glad.” There’s no more gettin’ on their knees.”
—Maggie Holmes, African American domestic worker. As quoted in Working, book 3, by Studs Terkel (1973)
“Have you not heard of that madman who lit a lantern in the bright morning hours, ran to the market place, and cried incessantly: “I seek God! I seek God!””
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)