Generally, desire and demand are treated as synonyms but there is a vast difference between these two terms in economics. By desire we mean the desire to have a commodity. The phenomenon of unlimited wants is the result of such a desire. However, every desire is not a demand.
By demand, we mean that desire for the satisfaction of which a consumer has resources and he is willing to part with the resources. In short, by demand we mean effective demand. A desire can he an effective demand only when the following conditions are fulifilled:
(i) There should be a desire to have a commodity
(ii) There should be resources to buy the commodity
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(iii) There should be willingness to spend the resources
(iv) The commodity desired should be available.
Demand is always at a price and at some given period of time. Without reference to price and period of time the concept of demand has no significance. Therefore, whenever the concept of demand is considered, it always relates to a price and some time dimension. Its reference to time is also very necessary because with passage of time, demand for a commodity at different prices may change.
In the words of Prof. Benham, “The demand for anything at a given price is the amount of it which will be bought per unit of time at that price.”
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Thus, we may define demand as the quantity of a commodity that is demanded at a given price at a given time by the consumers.