Trade Without Money: The Barter System Demystified

1. What is meant by a Barter System?

2. How far back in history can we trace the use of the barter system?

3. Can you provide examples of present-day or regional barter systems that are still operational?

4. Whether Barter System still exists in the world?

5. What are the merits associated with employing the barter system?

6. What are the drawbacks of relying on the barter system?

7. What makes the barter system time-consuming?

8. Explain why the barter system is not suitable for goods that cannot be divided.

9. What does the term “double coincidence of wants” mean when talking about the barter system?

10. How does the barter system differ from a monetary system?

11. In traditional barter systems, which types of goods or services were commonly traded?

12. What are those factors on which the types of goods or services exchanged in the traditional barter system depended upon?

13. Whether Barter System is portable?

14. What is the medium of exchange in barter system?

15. Whether deferred payments are allowed in barter system?

16. Barter system has limited geographic reach. What is meant by that?

17. Whether there is any problem if multiple parties are involved in the barter system?

18. Whether barter system is simple?

Barter system is still prevalent in some African communities and in some remote areas of Amazon rainforests. Why these communities often rely on bartering or trading goods and services among themselves?