Price controls

Price controls are government rules that set or restrict prices sellers may charge or buyers must pay. Common forms include price ceilings and price floors.

Price ceiling: A legal maximum price that sellers may charge for a good or service. This is the upper-bound form of price control; binding ceilings can create shortages.
Rent control: Rules that limit rents landlords may charge or how quickly rents may rise. It is a prominent price-control policy aimed at housing affordability.
Free market: An economic system in which prices and production are largely determined by voluntary exchange. It contrasts with direct government limits on prices.
Deadweight loss: The loss of total economic surplus when trades that would benefit buyers and sellers do not occur. A binding control can prevent mutually beneficial trades and reduce total surplus.
Price floor: A legal minimum price that buyers must pay for a good or service. This is the lower-bound form of price control; binding floors can create surpluses.
Minimum wage: The lowest hourly or other unit wage that employers may legally pay workers. It applies a price floor to labor rather than to a consumer good.
Market equilibrium: A price and quantity at which the quantity supplied equals the quantity demanded. Price controls can prevent the market from reaching this balance.
Consumer surplus: The difference between what consumers are willing to pay and what they actually pay. A lower controlled price can benefit consumers who obtain the good, while excluding others.
Shortage: A condition in which demand exceeds the available supply of a good at a given price. A binding ceiling can keep prices below the level that balances supply and demand.
Gasoline price controls: Government limits on the prices charged for gasoline. Fuel controls illustrate how regulated prices can affect supply and queues.

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