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SUPPLY, DEMAND, AND
GOVERNMENT POLICIES

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Supply, demand, and government
• In a free, unregulated market system, market forces
establish equilibrium prices and quantities
• The market equilibrium may be efficient, but it may
not leave everyone satisfied
• Those who consider themselves to be losing from the
market outcomes will ask for government to intervene
in the market
• The government intervention in the markets may take
several ways, depending on the circumstances
• We will look at two different cases of direct
government involvement in markets:
– Price controls
– Taxes levied on goods and services

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Price controls
• Price control: government sets an upper or lower limit
(or both) to the price of good or service
• Price controls are often used in many countries
• Price controls are enacted by governments because
there is a demand for them from some sections of the
public
• Who, either as buyers or sellers feel that the existing
market price is unfair to them
• We will distinguish between two types of controls
• Price Ceiling: a legally established maximum price at
which a good can be sold.
• Price Floor: a legally established minimum price at
which a good can be sold

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Price ceilings
• Price ceilings limit the maximum price that sellers can
charge to their customers
• In other words, market price can be lower but can not
be higher than the price fixed by government
• Two outcomes are possible when the government
imposes a price ceiling
• The price ceiling is not binding if it is set above the
equilibrium price
• It will have no impact on the market
• The price ceiling is binding if it is set below the
equilibrium price
• It will lead to shortages in the market as demand
exceeds supply at that price

A price ceiling that is not binding
$4
3
Quantity of
Ice-Cream
Cones
0
Price of
Ice-Cream
Cone
100
Equilibrium
quantity
Price
ceiling
Equilibrium
price
Demand
Supply

A price ceiling that is binding
$3
Quantity of
Ice-Cream
Cones
0
Price of
Ice-Cream
Cone
2
Demand
Supply
Price
ceiling
Shortage
75
Quantity
supplied
125
Quantity
demanded
Equilibrium
price

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Effects of price ceilings
• A price ceiling prevents the price to rise further even if
demand is high
• A binding price ceiling creates shortages because QD
> QS.
• Example: there was a margarine shortage in Turkey
during 1978-79 crisis because the price was fixed too
low to cover the costs of producers
• Shortages result in non-price rationing such as long
lines in front of the shops, discrimination by sellers
and as a rule the formation of a “black market”
• In Turkey there was a black market for dollars before
1980s because the government had fixed the
exchange rate below the market equilibrium rate

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(a) The Price Ceiling on Gasoline Is Not Binding
Quantity of
Gasoline
0
Price of
Gasoline
(b) The Price Ceiling on Gasoline Is Binding
P 2
P 1
Quantity of
Gasoline
0
Price of
Gasoline
Q 1
Q D
Demand
S 1
S 2
Price ceiling
Q S
4. ...
resulting
in a
shortage.
3. ...the price
ceiling becomes
binding...
2. ...but when
supply falls...
1. Initially,
the price
ceiling
is not
binding... Price ceiling
P 1
Q 1
Demand
Supply, S 1
Price ceiling on gasoline
A fall in supply turns an unbinding price ceiling
into a binding ceiling and causes shortages of
gasoline

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(a) Rent Control in the Short Run
(supply and demand are inelastic)
(b) Rent Control in the Long Run
(supply and demand are elastic)
Quantity of
Apartments
0
Supply
Controlled rent
Shortage
Rental
Price of
Apartment
0
Rental
Price of
Apartment
Quantity of
Apartments
Demand
Supply
Controlled rent
Shortage
Demand
Rent control: short and long run
Controling rents cause bigger shortages in the
long run because new construction becomes
unattractive, reducing long run supply

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Price floors
• Price floors set the minimum price that buyers must
pay for a product
• Market price can be higher but not below the price set
by the government
• When the government imposes a price floor, again
two outcomes are possible
• The price floor is not binding if it is set below the
equilibrium price
• It has no effect on the market
• The price floor is binding if it is set above the
equilibrium price
• It leads to a surplus because demand is less than
supply at that price

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A price floor that is not binding
$3
2
Quantity of
Ice-Cream
Cones
0
Price of
Ice-Cream
Cone
100
Equilibrium
quantity
Price
floor
Equilibrium
price
Demand
Supply

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A price floor that is binding
$4
Quantity of
Ice Cream
Cones
0
Price of
Ice Cream
Cones
3
Demand
Supply
Price floor
80
Quantity
demanded
120
Quantity
Supplied
Equilibrium
price
Surplus

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Effects of a price floor
• A price floor prevents price to fall even if demand is
very low
• When the market price hits the floor, it can fall no
further, and the market price equals the floor price
• A binding price floor causes a surplus of supply over
demand because at that price
QS > QD.
• Agricultural support prices are typical examples
• When set above market levels, they result in large
unsold stocks (tobacco?)
• Minimum wage laws also set price floors for wages
• Binding minimum wages prevent wages to go down
and therefore cause unemployment

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(a) A Free Labor Market
Quantity of
Labor
0
Wage
Equilibrium
employment
(b) A Labor Market with a Binding Minimum Wage
Quantity of
Labor
0
Wage
Quantity
demanded
Quantity
supplied
Labor
supply
Labor
demand
Minimum
wage
Labor surplus
(unemployment)
Equilibrium
wage
Labor
demand
Labor
supply
Minumum wage law and employment
Minimum wage legislation increases both the real
wage of employed and the number of unemployed

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Taxes: impact
• Taxes levied on goods and services are called indirect
taxes
• The amount of tax fixed by the government is added to
the price and paid everytime the good is sold
• Taxes discourage market activity
• When a good is taxed, the quantity sold is smaller
• Buyers and sellers share the tax burden
• Tax incidence is the study of who bears the burden of
a tax
• Taxes result in a change in market equilibrium
• Buyers pay more and sellers receive less, regardless
of whom the tax is levied on

Impact of a 50¢ tax on buyers
3.00
Quantity of
Ice-Cream Cones
0
Price of
Ice-Cream
Cone
100
D1
Supply, S1

Impact of a 50¢ tax on buyers
$3.30
3.00
2.80
Quantity of
Ice-Cream Cones
0
Price of
Ice-Cream
Cone
Price
sellers
receive
100
90
Equilibrium
with tax
Equilibrium without tax
Price
buyers
pay
D1
D2
Supply, S1

Impact of a 50¢ tax on sellers
3.00
Quantity of
Ice-Cream Cones
0
Price of
Ice-Cream
Cone
100
S1
Demand, D1

Impact of a 50¢ tax on sellers
$3.30
3.00
2.80
Quantity of
Ice-Cream Cones
0
Price of
Ice-Cream
Cone
Price
without
tax
Price
sellers
receive
100
90
Equilibrium
with tax
Equilibrium without tax
Tax ($0.50)
Price
buyers
pay
S1
S2
Demand, D1
A tax on sellers
shifts the supply
curve upward by
the amount of
the tax ($0.50).

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The incidence of tax
• Tax incidence tries to establish who pays the tax in the
end?
• In other words, in what proportions is the burden of the
tax divided between buyers and sellers?
• Alternatively, how do the effects of taxes on sellers
compare to those levied on buyers?
• This is an opportunity for us to see how the measure
of elasticity can be used in economics
• Because the answers to these questions depends on
the elasticity of demand and the elasticity of supply.
• We shall show that the burden of a tax falls more
heavily on the side of the market that is less elastic

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Elasticity and tax incidence
• Elasticity enters the picture because total revenue in
the market depends on the price elasticity of demand
and price elasticity of supply
• We can distinguish among three major cases
– If demand is inelastic while supply is elastic, then a
larger share of the tax will fall on the buyers
– If demand is elastic while supply is inelestic, then a
larger share of the tax will fall on the sellers
– If demand and supply are unit elastic, buyers and
seller will share the tax burden equally
• The government is able to target correctly those whom
it wishes to pay the tax when the price elasticities of
demand and supply are known

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Elastic supply, inelastic demand
Quantity
0
Price
Demand
Supply
Price without tax

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Elastic supply, inelastic demand
Quantity
0
Price
Demand
Supply
Tax
2. ...the
incidence of the
tax falls more
heavily on
consumers...
1. When supply is more
elastic than demand...
3. ...than on
producers.
Price sellers receive
Price buyers pay
Price without tax

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Inelastic supply, elastic demand
Quantity
0
Price
Demand
Supply
Price without tax

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Inelastic supply, elastic demand
Price without tax
Quantity
0
Price
Demand
Supply
Tax
Price sellers receive
Price buyers pay
2. ...the
incidence of
the tax falls more
heavily on producers...
3. ...than on consumers.
1. When demand is more
elastic than supply...

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Taxing luxuries or necessities?
• There is always a demand from the public to tax
luxuries but not necessities
• Taxing goods that are considered luxuries is popular
both with the public and governments
• Unfortunately luxury goods usually have high price
elasticity of demand (bigger than 1)
• Therefore taxes reduce the consumption of luxuries
• Tax revenue is much lower than expected
• In turn, necessities have low price elasticity of demand
(smaller than 1)
• And yield high tax revenues to the government

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Conclusion
• The economy is governed by two kinds of laws:
– The laws of supply and demand.
– The laws enacted by government
• Prices can be controled by ceilings or floors
• Price ceilings cause shortages and black market
• Price floors result in surpluses and unsold stoks held
by the government
• Taxes raise revenue to the government
• Taxes create new price equilibriums in which buyers
and sellers share the tax
• The incidence of the tax depends on the price
elasticity of demand and supply
• Necessities are taxed to get more revenue