ECON 202 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Steel Crisis, Ad Valorem Tax, Price Ceiling

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Chapter 6 supply, demand and government policies. Price ceiling: legal maximum on the price at which a good can be sold. A price ceiling is a binding constraint on the market. Note that price ceilings are usually set below the equilibrium price. If a ceiling were imposed above the equilibrium price, it would be ineffective (not binding). If a price ceiling is imposed quantity demanded > quantity supplied so there is excess demand (shortage). When a shortage develops, sellers must ration the scarce goods among the large number of potential buyers. While the automatic rationing mechanism that occurs in competitive markets is efficient and impersonal, the rationing mechanisms under price ceilings are potentially unfair and inefficient (the goods do not necessarily go to the buyers who value them most highly). In contrast, when prices are not controlled, the rationing mechanism is efficient (the goods go to the buyers that value them most highly) and impersonal (and therefore fair).

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