Price Ceilings Cause Shortages And Price Floors Cause Surpluses

Consumers are clearly made worse off by price floors.

Price ceilings cause shortages and price floors cause surpluses.

They are forced to pay higher prices and consume smaller quantities than they would with free market. If price ceiling is set above the existing market price there is no direct effect. But if price ceiling is set below the existing market price the market undergoes problem of shortage. When a price floor is set above the equilibrium price quantity supplied will exceed quantity demanded and excess supply or surpluses will result.

A shortage happens when there is more of a demand for a good than there is supplied. Imagine if you had to rent out the front apartment of the farm for half of what you wanted to rent because of some new law obama made. But the price floor p f blocks that communication between suppliers and consumers preventing them from responding to the surplus in a mutually appropriate way. A price floor can cause a surplus while a price ceiling can cause a shortage but not always.

Suppliers can be worse off. Price floors and price ceilings often lead to unintended consequences. Suppose that the supply and demand for wheat flour are balanced at the current price and that the government then fixes a lower maximum price. Price ceilings which prevent prices from exceeding a certain maximum cause shortages.

Price floors prevent a price from falling below a certain level. However price ceiling in a long run can cause adverse effect on market and create huge market inefficiencies. One way shortages occur is through a price ceiling. An example of a price ceiling we can use to explain the concept would be rent control.