Read Aloud the Text Content

This audio was created by Woord's Text to Speech service by content creators from all around the world.

Text Content or SSML code:

I will start with a brief introduction of the types of illegal markets are present and how they function within our society. Illegal markets are markets where there is supply and demand as in legal markets. The substantial difference between the two types of markets is that in illegal markets the role of the state is absent, whereas in legal markets the state is essential and provides a kind of guarantee during transactions. It provides legal protection of property rights in legal markets, whereas in illegal markets it denies it. Regarding supply and demand, there is demand in illegal markets when the good is not available in legal markets or when people are looking for cheaper products. otherwise, supply depends on the profitability of the illegal market. Focusing on the illegal online drug market, this can take place physically in so-called open-air markets or virtually through cryptomarkets or Ebay like eletronic platforms or app-based drug dealing. The cryptomarkets or Ebay like electronic markets have alleviated the problem of anonymity by allowing customers and suppliers to work in a more secure and reliable environment although they require skills in the technology. Cryptomarkets are accessible on a global scale and accept cryptocurrency as a means of payment. Despite the fact that cryptomarkets and app-based drug dealing have improved and facilitated the exchange of illegal drugs, Renate Mayntz believes that the main problems related to the illegal world persist. The first of these concerns value. That is, how well a good satisfies a need. in illegal markets, assigning value to a certain category of goods is problematic because of the difficulty of assessing product quality in the absence of applicable regulations and legal guarantees. One means used in legal markets to establish product quality are marketing activities that cannot be used in illegal markets such as the online drug market. However, with the development of technology there are more illegal promotions and illegal activities in telegram and whatsapp groups, but obviously on a much smaller scale than in legal markets. In illegal markets, the most traditional but most widely used form of the drug market is REPUTATION thanks to which asymmetric information problems between the seller and the customer are reduced. In online drug sales, the dealer has more interest in selling quality drugs and maintaining long-term contacts than in ripping off the customer. The second problem is competition. There are two legal problems with the concept of competition. The first problem concerns competition with competitors; more specifically, since there is no state regulating the online drug market, dealers must try to avoid competition in order to get the best competitive prices. The most efficient method of eliminating competition is corruption. Through corruption, the stability of illegal markets increases. The second problem concerns inefficient competition due to transparency. Since customers cannot assess the quality of the drug offered due to the impossibility of marketing activities and the inability to offer products out in the open, price competition is limited. These problems lead to fragmented local market structures The third problem concerns cooperation. In the drug market there are several risks concerning the breach of contract due to the asymmetric information between the seller and the customer regarding the price and quality of the drugs sold. Trust is a core value in this market and is often not easy to establish as the stronger party can cheat without consequences. Despite the fact that the technological world is revolutionising online drug sales by reducing asymmetric information through customer reviews, the illicit drug market continues to be run by a few trusted people.