~ Bargavi Baradhwaj
Economic activities include any kind of activities that include the exchange of money in return for providing, making, selling, or manufacturing commodities and services. On the other hand, Non-economic activities involve the rendering of services without any economic exchange. So, the main difference comes down to money which in turn leads to profit.
Features of economic activities involve an earning motive, utility creation, satisfaction, and the measurement of profits and losses. Service motive, self-satisfaction, and social obligations are things that non-economic institutions focus on
Types of economic activity-
- Profession– This involves the rendering of any service which is highly specialized in nature. It requires expertise and professional knowledge through which they can enter a professional body. For instance, lawyers and doctors.
- Employment or service– When someone renders service under an agreement of employment, he is said to be an employee. These people are recruited through various companies and firms and are paid a fixed amount of salary.
- Business- This involves opening up your own entity with the vision of profit-making. This can be the manufacturing of goods, rendering of services, or any activity which is economic in nature.
Types of non-economic activity-
- Political activities– These involve contesting for elections or even joining various parties and attending its meeting. This is done with the purview of forming the government and making sure that society is controlled.
- Religious activities– Worshiping of god, giving donations, and celebrating various festivals come under this domain. These activities are done because of the spiritual intuition of the man and he doesn’t expect money in return.
- Charitable activities– These involve the establishment of NGO’s and various other charitable drives. It is considered to be one of the most important non-economic activity and is done to help society.
To sum up, it is important to realize that all humans thrive for money to live a well-secured life. A priest or a guru might use the donations he receives for his own cost of living as well as to preach his religion. Even companies are obliged to perform some kind of social responsibility where they do not receive any kind of profits. So even though this distinction exists, there is a fine line that differentiates the two and can be overstepped from time to time. We all have the responsibility to perform both economic and non-economic activities to make sure that we are secured both financially and socially.
