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Q.Define barter system and explain limitations of barter system.

Gujarat GsebGujarat Board (GSEB) HSC Commerce Board 2026Subjective· 5mImportance★★★★★
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Barter = direct goods-for-goods exchange. Its limits: no double coincidence of wants, no common measure of value, indivisibility, no store of value, and difficulty in deferred payments.

Definition of barter system: The barter system is the system of exchange in which goods and services are exchanged directly for other goods and services without the use of money (commodity-for-commodity, i.e. C–C exchange). For example, a farmer exchanging wheat for cloth.

Limitations (difficulties) of the barter system:

  1. Lack of double coincidence of wants — For an exchange, each person must want exactly what the other has to offer at the same time. Finding such a match is very difficult (e.g. a person with wheat wanting cloth must find someone with cloth who wants wheat).
  2. Absence of a common measure of value — There is no single unit to express the value of all goods, so it is hard to decide how much of one good should be exchanged for another; countless exchange ratios are needed.
  3. Indivisibility of goods — Many goods (like a cow or a house) cannot be divided into small parts for exchange, making small transactions difficult.
  4. Difficulty in storing value (wealth) — Wealth had to be stored in the form of goods, many of which are perishable, bulky or costly to store, so value could not be preserved easily. …

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