Price Controls5
Previously
• Equilibrium is determined by the forces of supply and demand.
• A shortage (excess demand) will occur at prices below the equilibrium.
• A surplus (excess supply) will occur at prices above the equilibrium.
• Sliding along a demand or supply curve is caused by a change in the price of the good.
Learning Objectives
1. To appreciate the differences between price ceilings and price floors.
2. To understand that all price controls have unintended consequences.
What Are Price Controls?
• Price controls– Attempt to set, or manipulate, prices through
government involvement in the market– Meant to ease perceived burdens on the population
• Price ceiling– Legally established maximum price for a good or
service
• Price floor– Legally established minimum price for a good or
service
Price Controls, Historically
• Price controls in ancient Egypt– Farmers revolted and economy collapsed
• Price ceiling on grain in ancient Greece– Supply of grain disappeared
• Throughout history, price controls– Disrupt the normal functions of the market– Prevent the market from clearing
More Recent Price Controls
• 1941: U.S. Office of Price Administration– Price controls after WWII
resulted in black markets.
• Black markets– Illegal markets that arise
when price controlsare in place.
– Best known example is Prohibition
• Other ways to circumvent price controls– Reducing size or quality of product
Thought Experiment$0.50 Price Ceiling on BreadQuestion Explanation In pictures
Will there be more or less
bread for sale?
Consumers want to purchase more, but producers will manufacture less.
Shortage!Empty shelves
Will the size of a typical loaf
change?
Manufacturers will try to maintain profits by reducing the size of each loaf.
No more giant loaves
Will the quality change?
Expensive brands will no longer be profitable to produce.
Focaccia bread would disappear
Will the opportunity
cost of finding bread change?
Opportunity cost of finding bread will rise. Resources spent looking for bread in
different stores and waiting in line.
Bread lines would become the norm
Would you buy illegal bread if
you could?
Since bread is hard to find, and people still need it, a black market will develop.
Black market bread dealers
reduce the shortage
Non-binding Price Ceiling
Binding Price Ceiling
Price Ceilings in the Long Run
Case Studies on Price Ceilings
• Rent control– Price ceiling on apartments or housing
• Goal:– Help low-income renters find affordable
places to live
Rent Control
• Unintended consequences of rent control:– Shortages (Qd > Qs)
– Decreases in long-terminvestment in thebuilding of new units
– Reduction in quality of apartments– Black markets with higher prices– Landlords “nickel and diming” tenants
with fees to increase revenues
Rent Control
• Unintended consequences of rent control– “Housing gridlock”– Units are actually harder to find.– Policy often ends up hurting the very people it
was supposed to help.
Rent Control in the Short Run and Long Run
Rent Control and the Rich
• The rich and rent control– Massachusetts decided to end rent control in part
because only 6% of people in rent-controlled units were poor.
– Actresses Mia Farrow and Faye Dunaway lived in rent-controlled units for years.
– Ask: Best allocation of resources?
• Long-term development issues– Cities without rent controls (Dallas, Phoenix) have
vacancy rates above 15%.– Rent-controlled cities (New York) have vacancy rates
around 5%.
Price Gouging
• Price gouging laws– Laws that place a temporary ceiling on
prices– Usually after a natural disaster or
emergency
• Consequences– Restricted prices can’t ration efficiently.– Resources may not go where they are
needed the most.– Goods that people need disappear due
to severe shortages.
Price Gouging
Economics in Stossel in the Classroom
• Is price gouging bad?
Price Floors
• Recall that a price floor is– A minimum legal price
• Who do you think lobbies for price floors?– Producers of the product
Thought Experiment$6 Price Floor on MilkQuestion Explanation In picturesWill the
quantity of milk for sale
change?
Consumers will purchase less but producers will manufacture more.
Surplus!
There will be a surplus of milk
Will the size of a typical container change?
Since the price floor is $6.00, manufacturers can make their
product more attractive by increasing the size of each container.
Milk containers would get
bigger
Would producers sell
below the price floor?
Due to the surplus, sellers would have a strong incentive to undercut
the price floor in order to avoid having to discard leftover milk.
Illegal discounts would help to
reduce the milk surplus
Are milk producers better off?
Not if they have trouble selling what they produce.
There will be a lot of spoiled
milk
Binding Price Floor
Binding Price Floor
Binding Price Floor in the Long Run
Minimum Wage
• Minimum wage– The lowest hourly wage rate that firms may
legally pay their workers; it functions as a price floor.
• Rationale for minimum wage:– Provide a “living wage”– Help the working poor
who are often unskilled
Labor Markets
• In the supply and demand framework for goods and services:– Consumers (all of you) are the
demanders of goods
– Firms (the businesses) are the suppliers (producers) of the goods
Labor Markets
• In the supply and demand framework for labor:– Consumers (all of you) are the suppliers of labor.– Firms (the businesses) are the demanders of labor.
• The axes on a graph of a labor market– Wage (W) is the vertical axis. This is the price of
labor.– Labor (L) is the horizontal axis. This is the number of
workers.
Labor Markets
• The demand curve for labor is downward-sloping. Firms are willing to buy:– More labor at low wages– Less labor at high wages
• A simple supply curve for labor is upward-sloping. Individuals are willing to supply:– More labor at higher wages– Less labor at lower wages
Non-binding Minimum Wage
Minimum Wage
• The unintended consequence of a binding minimum wage is unemployment. Caused by:– Decrease in quantity demanded for labor– Increase in quantity supplied of labor– Firms replacing low-skilled jobs with capital, if
possible– Firm relocation to countries without wage laws– Shortening hours for workers
• Proponents of minimum wage also advocate– Training, education, job programs
Non-binding Minimum Wage
Politics and Minimum Wage
• Politically– Raising a non-binding wage floor will seem caring and
benevolent.
• Economically– Raising a non-binding wage floor will have no effect,
as long as the new floor is still below the equilibrium wage.
• Locally– States with the highest (binding) minimum wages also
have some of the highest unemployment.– Washington, Oregon, California
Remembering Price Controls
P
QD
S
EquilibriumP*
Q*
Binding price floor
Binding price ceiling
Remembering Price Controls
• Look at the ceiling in your room. Is it causing you any problems?– What happens if the ceiling is only 4 feet
high?
• Look at the floor. Can you still get to your desk at the current floor height?– What if the floor was too high? You would
have to change your behavior to reach your desk.
Conclusion
• Prices act as signals and give information to consumers and producers.
• Price controls can distort the signals.
• Price control policy should be done with caution.
Summary
• A price ceiling is a legally imposed maximum price.– The resulting shortage is problematic.– Prices no longer signal relative scarcity.– Two unintended consequences: a smaller supply of
the good (Qs) and a higher price for those who turn to the black market.
• A price floor is a legally imposed minimum price.– The minimum wage is an example of a price floor.
Summary
• Price controls lead to many unintended consequences.– Shortages or surpluses
– Black markets
– Artificial attempts to bring the market back into balance
Practice What You Know
What will be the effect of a non-binding price ceiling?
a. A surplus will be created.
b. A shortage will be created.
c. There will be no effect.
d. The effect is unknown.
Practice What You Know
In the event of a binding price ceiling, what is one function that a black market serves?
a. reduces the shortage caused by the price ceiling
b. decreases the price even further
c. creates a monopoly
d. causes a surplus of the good
Practice What You Know
What is one unintended consequence of rent control?
a. People in rent-controlled units will relocate more often.
b. Landlords may not maintain rental units.
c. Too many apartments will be built, creating a surplus of units.
d. People will choose not to live in big cities.
Practice What You Know
Which of the following is true about labor markets?
a. The minimum wage is a price ceiling.
b. Unemployment is a labor shortage.
c. Firms supply the labor.
d. None of the above.
Practice What You Know
Supply and demand generally become more elastic in the long run. This means that shortages caused by price ceilings _________ in the long run.
a. disappear completely
b. become smaller
c. become larger
d. become infinitely large
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