<!-- generated: provider=openrouter model=arcee-ai/trinity-large-preview:free date=2026-02-19 source=book-3-chapter-01 -->

# Market Price Regulation Mechanism

## Definition

The economic process where the quantity of finished work sold to country inhabitants regulates the materials and provisions purchased by town inhabitants, creating a balanced exchange system. This mechanism ensures that neither employment nor subsistence can increase beyond what the demand from the country will support.

## Source Chapter

Book III, Chapter 1

## Context

Smith presents this as the automatic regulator of town-country commerce, explaining how market forces maintain equilibrium between production and consumption in the reciprocal exchange relationship.

## Economic Domain

Exchange

---
