Explain the "market period" (very short period) in Marshall's classification of markets on the basis of time.

Question

Accepted Answer

The market period (very short period) is the shortest of Marshall's four time periods — so short that a producer's supply is completely fixed and cannot be added to at all, however high the price rises. A fisherman's catch already brought to shore, or a farmer's already-harvested perishable vegetables, are standard examples: no matter how strong demand becomes on a given day, no more of the good can be produced or brought to market within that period. Because supply cannot respond, price in the market period is determined almost entirely by the strength of demand on that day.

✓Final answer

The market period (very short period) is a period in which supply is completely fixed, so price is determined mainly by demand — e.g. a fisherman's catch already landed for the day.

Same / Similar Concept — real previous-year questions on the same or a closely similar concept, not this exact question.

CBSE 2026Set ANNUAL1 markMCQ
$Q. Revenue per unit of output sold - Marginal revenuе Marginal cost Average revenue Total revenue$
(a) a, b, c
(b) a, c, d
(c) only c
(d) only b
›Reveal solutionSolution
Revenue per unit of output sold = Average revenue, so the answer is only c.

Average Revenue (AR) is total revenue divided by the number of units sold, i.e. revenue earned per unit of output. Since total revenue equals price multiplied by quantity, average revenue works out to be equal to the price of the commodity. This is exactly what the statement 'revenue per unit of output sold' describes.

(a) Marginal revenue is the addition to total revenue from selling one more unit.

(b) Marginal cost is a cost concept, not revenue.

(d) Total revenue is the whole receipt from all units, not per unit.

✓Final answer
$Correct option: only c — Average revenue.$
CBSE 2023Set ANNUAL1 markMCQ
$Q. Find the odd word out: Revenue concepts:$
(a) Total Revenue
(b) Average Revenue
(c) Total Cost
(d) Marginal Revenue
›Reveal solutionSolution
The odd word is Total Cost — it belongs to the family of cost concepts, while Total Revenue, Average Revenue and Marginal Revenue are all revenue concepts.

Revenue is the money receipt a firm earns by selling its output:

Total Revenue (TR) = price × quantity sold.

Average Revenue (AR) = TR ÷ quantity = price per unit.

Marginal Revenue (MR) = the addition to TR from selling one more unit.

Total Cost (TC), in contrast, is the total expenditure a firm incurs on the factors of production (fixed cost + variable cost). It measures spending, not earnings, so it does not fit with the revenue concepts.

✓Final answer
$The odd word out among the revenue concepts is Total Cost .$
CBSE 2022Set ANNUAL1 mark
$Q. Give economic terms. Revenue per unit of output sold.$
›Reveal solutionSolution
The economic term is Average Revenue (AR) — revenue per unit of output sold, i.e. AR = Total Revenue / Number of units sold.

A firm's revenue concepts are:

Total Revenue (TR) — total receipts from selling a given quantity (Price x Quantity).

Average Revenue (AR) — revenue per unit sold = TR / Quantity. Since TR = Price x Quantity, AR is equal to the price of the commodity, so the AR curve is the firm's demand curve.

Marginal Revenue (MR) — addition to total revenue from selling one more unit.

The definition 'revenue per unit of output sold' matches average revenue.

✓Final answer
$Revenue per unit of output sold = Average Revenue (AR)$

> [!ANSWER]
> The market period (very short period) is a period in which supply is completely fixed, so price is determined mainly by demand — e.g. a fisherman's catch already landed for the day.

Q.Explain the "market period" (very short period) in Marshall's classification of markets on the basis of time.

Concept understanding — Meaning and Classification of Market

Q.Explain the "market period" (very short period) in Marshall's classification of markets on the basis of time.

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