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A shortage occurs when price cannot rise. When the answer is “just pay more”, the question is not about shortage, only unfulfilled dreams.

• runeks 5y ago
  > A shortage occurs when price cannot rise. Do you have an example of this?
  • saberdancer 5y ago
    Anywhere where the product can be imported from abroad. If you can buy product A from Mexico for 10 USD, but can't get workers to produce the same product for 10 USD in USA, you cannot realistically increase the price.
    • randomdata 5y ago
      In that case the price could rise, but does not need to as the market is sufficiently supplied at a lower price point. A shortage occurs when buyers want to pay more, and need to pay more for the market to clear, but cannot do so for some reason (the law, for example). A decent indicator of there being a shortage is if the recipient of a product or service is determined by a non-price based mechanism, such as a lottery or a needs-based determination, as the usual 'highest bidder wins' method is not possible.
  • randomdata 5y ago
    Price gouging laws are a good example of a mechanism that can prevent price from rising. One some of us got to experience at the onset of the pandemic last year.