Shortage

Shortage
A situation where demand for a product or service exceeds the available supply. Possible causes of a shortage include miscalculation of demand by a company producing a good or service (i.e., the company can’t produce enough to keep up with demand) or government policies (i.e., price fixing/rationing). Natural disasters that devastate the physical landscape of a region can also cause shortages of such essential products as food and housing, also leading to higher prices of those goods.

A government-imposed price ceiling can create a shortage. When the government does not allow the free market to dictate the price of an item based on its supply/demand, an artificially high number of people may decide to purchase that item because the price is artificially low. For example, if the government provides free doctor visits as part of a national health care plan, consumers may experience a shortage of doctor services because when people no longer have to pay directly for them, they will be likely to increase their demand for those services.


Investment dictionary. . 2012.

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  • shortage — short‧age [ˈʆɔːtɪdʒ ǁ ˈʆɔːr ] noun [countable, uncountable] a situation in which there is not enough of something that people need or want: • We suffer from a labor shortage. • The real estate developer is facing an acute cash shortage. shortage… …   Financial and business terms

  • Shortage — Short age, n. Amount or extent of deficiency, as determined by some requirement or standard; as, a shortage in money accounts. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • shortage — index absence (omission), dearth, deficiency, deficit, delinquency (shortage), insufficiency, need ( …   Law dictionary

  • shortage — 1868, Amer.Eng., from SHORT (Cf. short) + AGE (Cf. age) …   Etymology dictionary

  • shortage — The dollar amount below the accountable amount shown on Form 1412 A at the conclusion of a retail vending credit examination …   Glossary of postal terms

  • shortage — [n] deficiency curtailment, dearth, defalcation, deficit, failure, inadequacy, insufficiency, lack, lapse, leanness, paucity, pinch, poverty, scantiness, scarcity, shortfall, tightness, underage, want, weakness; concepts 646,709,767 Ant.… …   New thesaurus

  • shortage — ► NOUN ▪ a situation in which something needed cannot be obtained in sufficient amounts …   English terms dictionary

  • shortage — ☆ shortage [shôrtij ] n. a deficiency in the quantity or amount needed or expected, or the extent of this; deficit …   English World dictionary

  • shortage — noun ADJECTIVE ▪ acute, chronic, critical, desperate, dire, serious, severe ▪ the current acute shortage of teachers ▪ …   Collocations dictionary

  • shortage — 01. During a time of war, there is generally a [shortage] of oil, so gasoline is usually rationed. 02. The city often puts restrictions on water use in the summertime in order to prevent [shortages]. 03. There is often a water [shortage] in our… …   Grammatical examples in English

  • shortage — short|age [ˈʃo:tıdʒ US ˈʃo:r ] n [U and C] a situation in which there is not enough of something that people need shortage of ▪ a shortage of skilled labour ▪ There is no shortage of funds. water/food/housing etc shortage ▪ efforts to solve the… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

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