Rationing is the controlled distribution of resources and scarce goods or services: it restricts how much people are allowed to buy or consume. Rationing controls the size of the ration, one's allotted portion of the resources being distributed on a particular day or at a particular time. In economics, scarcity is defined as not having sufficient resources to produce enough to fulfill unlimited subjective wants. ...

Rationing economics

In economics, it is often common to use the word "rationing" to refer to one of the roles that prices play in markets, while rationing (as the word is usually used) is called "non-price rationing." Using prices to ration means that those with the most money (or other assets) and who want a product the most get the largest amount, whereas non-price rationing follows other principles of distribution. Below, we discuss only the latter, dropping the "non-price" qualifier, to refer only to marketing done by an authority of some sort (often the government). Face-to-face trading interactions among on the New York Stock Exchange trading floor Economics or oeconomics is the study of human choice behaviour. ... Look up Market in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

In market economics, rationing artificially restricts demand. It is done to keep price below the equilibrium (market-clearing) price determined by the process of supply and demand in an unfettered market. Thus, rationing can be complementary to price controls. Face-to-face trading interactions among on the New York Stock Exchange trading floor Economics or oeconomics is the study of human choice behaviour. ... In economics, market clearing refers to either a simplifying assumption made by the new classical school that markets always go to where the quantity supplied equals the quantity demanded; or the process of getting there via price adjustment. ... The supply and demand model describes how prices vary as a result of a balance between product availability at each price (supply) and the desires of those with purchasing power at each price (demand). ... A free market is an idealized market, where all economic decisions and actions by individuals regarding transfer of money, goods, and services are voluntary, and are therefore devoid of coercion and theft (some definitions of coercion are inclusive of theft). Colloquially and loosely, a free market economy is an economy... In economics, incomes policies are wage and price controls used to fight inflation. ...

An example of rationing in the face of rising prices took place in the Netherlands, where there was rationing of gasoline in the 1973 energy crisis. (Redirected from 1973 energy crisis) United States, drivers of vehicles with odd numbered license plates were allowed to purchase gasoline only on odd-numbered days of the month, while drivers with even-numbers were limited to even-numbered days. ...

A reason for setting the price lower than would clear the market may be that there is a shortage, which would drive the market price very high. High prices, especially in the case of necessities, are unacceptable with regard to those who cannot afford them. In wartime, it is usually imperative for a government to maintain the support of this part of the population, to maintain "equality of sacrifice," especially since in most countries, the working-class and poor families contribute most of the soldiers.

Rationing using coupons is only one kind of non-price rationing. For example, scarce products can be rationed using queues. This is seen, for example, at amusement parks, where one pays a price to get in and then need not pay any price to go on the rides. Similarly, in the absence of road pricing, which is infeasible in many or most cases, access to roads is rationed in a first come, first serve queueing process, leading to congestion. In economics, scarcity is defined as not having sufficient resources to produce enough to fulfill unlimited subjective wants. ... Germany Pavilion, part of the Epcot Center theme park in Orlando, Florida Amusement park (also called theme park) is the generic term for a collection of rides and other entertainment attractions assembled for the purpose of entertaining a fairly large group of people. ... Road pricing is term that refers to the charging for the use of streets and roads. ... First come, first served (sometimes first-come, first-served or simply FCFS) is a service policy whereby the requests of customers or clients are attended to in the order that they arrived, without other biases or preferences. ... Queue at US Air Force station in Iraq, for food at a birthday celebration. Queue areas are areas in which people queue (first in, first out), that is they wait in line for something. ... Congestion is a state of excessive accumulation or overfilling or overcrowding. ...

Authorities which introduce rationing often have to deal with the rationed goods being sold illegally on the black market. The black market or underground market is the part of economic activity involving illegal dealings, typically the buying and selling of merchandise or services illegally. ...

Credit Rationing

A concept in economics and banking. It describes the situation when a bank limits the supply of loans, although it has enough funds to loan out, and the supply of loans has not yet equalled the demand of prospective borrowers. Changing the price of the loans (interest rate) does not equilibriate the demand and supply of the loans. The bank finds that raising the interest rate beyond a certain level actually reduces its profitability. Face-to-face trading interactions among on the New York Stock Exchange trading floor Economics or oeconomics is the study of human choice behaviour. ... For other uses, see Bank (disambiguation). ... Supply has a number of meanings: In economics, supply is the aggregate amount of any material good that can be called into being at a certain price point; it comprises one half of the equation of supply and demand. ... The supply and demand model describes how prices vary as a result of a balance between product availability at each price (supply) and the desires of those with purchasing power at each price (demand). ...

Joseph E. Stiglitz and Andrew Weiss's 1981 paper was one of the early papers to explain why the bank (or any lending institution for that matter) may credit ration its borrower if 1) the bank was unable perfectly distinguish the risky borrowers from the safe ones 2) the loan contracts were subject to limited liability (if projects returns were less than the debt obligation, the borrower bears no responsibility to pay out her pocket). Joseph Stiglitz (born February 9, 1943) is an American economist and a member of Columbia University faculty. ...

Raising the interest rate may cause adverse selection which would lead to an increases the number of 'risky' borrowers in the pool of aspiring borrowers. With higher debt obligations (due to higher interest rate) only the risky borrowers with higher returns would be ready to take up the banks contract. Recall, that with limited liability, the borrowers repay the loan if successful, but escape the consequence of failure of the project. Thus, only borrowers with riskier projects would be ready to take high interest rate loans. Thus, raising the interest rate increases the proportion of the risky borrowers in the project and reduces the overall profitability of the bank. Adverse selection or anti-selection is a term used in economics and insurance. ...

Military rationing

Rationing has long been used in the military, especially the navy, to make supplies last for a defined duration, such as a voyage. To ration the supplies, they are divided up into equal portions for each person for each day, or even a meal, over the expected voyage period. The objective is to ensure that each person receives a fair share of supplies throughout the voyage. Often some reserve was also held. If supplies ran short or the voyage went longer than expected, the ration portions would be reduced. For example, half rations means the portions are cut in half, making the supplies last twice as long. The multinational Combined Task Force One Five Zero (CTF-150) The British Grand Fleet, the supreme naval force of World War I A rare occurrence of a 5-country multinational fleet, during Operation Enduring Freedom in the Oman Sea. ...

Civilian rationing

Ration stamp for a person in holiday/vacation during II. World War (3-day-stamp)

A shopkeeper cancels the coupons in a British housewife's ration book

Rationing is often instituted during wartime for civilians as well. For example, each person may be given "ration coupons" allowing him or her to purchase a certain amount of a product each month. Rationing often includes food and other necessities for which there is a shortage, including materials needed for the war effort such as rubber tires, leather shoes, clothing and gasoline. Towards the end of the First World War, panic buying in the United Kingdom prompted rationing of first sugar, then meat, for the rest of the war. During World War II rationing existed in many countries including the United Kingdom and the United States. The British Ministry of Food refined the process in the early 1940s to ensure the population did not starve when food imports were severely restricted and local production limited due to the large number of men fighting the war. Rationing did not end in the United Kingdom until the 1950s – see also Rationing in the United Kingdom during and after World War II. Civilian peace time rationing of food may also occur, especially after natural disasters, during contingencies, or even after failed governmental economic policies regarding production or distribution, the latter happening especially in highly centralized planned economies. Examples of these situations include North Korea, China during the 1970s and 1980s, Communist Romania during the 1980's, the Soviet Union in 1990-1991, and Cuba today. This led to Rationing in the Soviet Union, Rationing in Communist Romania, Rationing in North Korea, Rationing in Cuba, and austerity in Israel. Latex being collected from a tapped rubber tree Rubber is an elastic hydrocarbon polymer which occurs as a milky colloidal suspension (known as latex) in the sap of several varieties of plants. ... A tire or tyre (see spelling differences and etymological origins) is a device covering the circumference of a wheel. ... Modern leather-working tools Leather is a material created through the tanning of hides, pelts and skins of animals, primarily cows. ... Womens shoes on display in a shop window, July 2005 A shoe is an item of footwear. ... It has been suggested that folding clothes be merged into this article or section. ... Gasoline, also called petrol, is a petroleum-derived liquid mixture consisting mostly of hydrocarbons and enhanced with benzene or iso-octane to increase octane ratings, used as fuel in internal combustion engines. ... Combatants Allied Powers: British Empire France Italy Russia United States Central Powers: Austria-Hungary Bulgaria Germany Ottoman Empire Commanders Ferdinand Foch Georges Clemenceau Joseph Joffre Victor Emmanuel III Luigi Cadorna Armando Diaz Nicholas II Aleksei Brusilov Herbert Henry Asquith Douglas Haig John Jellicoe Woodrow Wilson John Pershing Wilhelm II Paul... Magnification of typical sugar showing monoclinic hemihedral crystal stucture. ... Flesh redirects here. ... Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Nazi Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Harry Truman Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead... The Minister of Food was a British government job separated from that of the Minister of Agriculture from 1939 until 1954. ... The 1940s decade ran from 1940 to 1949. ... The 1950s was the decade spanning from the 1st of January, 1950 to the 31st December, 1959. ... // Preface At the beginning of World War II Britain imported 55 million tons of foodstuffs per year, including more than 50% of its meat, 70% of its cheese and sugar, nearly 80% of fruits and about 90% of cereals and fats. ... A command economy is a political system in which government decisions are made by central state economic managers who determine what sorts of goods and services to produce and how they are to be priced and allocated, and may include state ownership of the means of production. ... The Soviets pressed for inclusion of Romanias heretofore negligible Communist Party in the post-war government, while non-communist political leaders were steadily eliminated from political life. ... Rationing in the Soviet Union was introduced several times, in periods of economical hardships. ... Rationing in Cuba refers to the system of food distibution known in Cuba as the Libreta de Abastecimiento (Supplies booklet). The system establishes the rations each person is allowed to buy and the frequency of supplies. ... Main article: History of Israel Austerity in Israel: From 1949 to 1959, the state of Israel was, to a varying extent, under a regime of austerity (צנע tsena), during which rationing and similar measures were enforced. ...

During the oil crisis in 1979, coupons for gasoline rationing were printed, but never used.

Another form of rationing that was employed during World War II, called Ration Stamps. These were redeemable stamps or coupons. Every family was issued a set number of each kind of stamp based on the size of the family, ages of children and income. This allowed the Allies and mainly America to supply huge amounts of food to the troops and later provided a surplus to aid in the rebuilding of Europe with aid to Germany after food supplies were destroyed. Image File history File links Gasoline ration coupons were printed for emergency use (but never issued) during the energy crisis in 1979. ... Image File history File links Gasoline ration coupons were printed for emergency use (but never issued) during the energy crisis in 1979. ... Oil crisis may refer to: 1973 oil crisis 1979 energy crisis 1990 spike in the price of oil Oil price increases of 2004 and 2005 Hubbert peak theory Energy crisis This is a disambiguation page: a list of articles associated with the same title. ... Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Nazi Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Harry Truman Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead... Ration Stamps refers to the method of Civilian Rationing employed during World War II. These were redeemable stamps or coupons. ...

Emergency rationing

Rationing of food and water may become necessary during an emergency, such as a natural disaster or terror attack. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has established guidlines for civilians on rationing food and water supplies when replacements are not available. According to FEMA standards, every person should have a minimum of one quart per day of water, and more for children, nursing mothers, and the ill. Water should not be rationed in an emergency. Food, on the other hand, can be rationed for many days. More information is available in FEMA's Are You Ready? guide. A natural disaster is the consequence of the combination of a natural hazard (a physical event e. ... Terrorist redirects here. ... New FEMA seal The Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) within the Emergency Preparedness and Response Directorate. ...

Sources

• Matt Gouras. "Frist Defends Flu Shots for Congress." Associated Press. October 21, 2004.

See also

• United States army rations
• MRE
• 10-in-1 food parcel

From the Revolutionary War to World War I, the United States army ration, as decreed by the Continental Congress, was the garrison ration which consisted of meat (or salt fish), bread, vegetables and something to drink (which in 1775 was supposed to be milk but which, in practice, could be... An MRE packet, containing a main course or entrée of spaghetti with meat sauce. ... 10-in-1 food parcels were rations prepared for by the United States Army intended to provide one meal for 10 soldiers during and after the 1945 planned attack of Japan during World War II. The attack never took place, leaving an over-abundance of surplus food. ...

References

Stiglitz, J. & Weiss, A. (1981). "Credit Rationing in Markets with Imperfect Information," American Economic Review, vol. 71, pages 393-410.

External links

• http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/FWWrationing.htm
• http://www.youth.net/memories/hypermail/0189.html
• http://www.ameshistoricalsociety.org/exhibits/events/rationing.htm WWII Rationing on the U.S. homefront