Rationing, << RASH uh nihng or RAY shuh nihng, >> is a system used by a government to distribute scarce products among the people of a country. Rationing is generally used only during a war or some other emergency. During a war, for example, people usually earn more money and so want to buy more products than they did before. But the armed forces need many of these products. Thus, manufacturers cannot produce enough of the products to satisfy the people’s demand.
When people want to buy more products than manufacturers can supply, inflation, a period of rising prices, usually results. A government can try to fight inflation by using a system of price controls to limit the amount of money that manufacturers can charge for their products. Through rationing, the government also tries to assure a fair distribution of the scarce products to all the people.
The two most common types of rationing are specific rationing and point rationing. Specific rationing uses a coupon for each type of rationed product. The government gives each household a certain number of coupons for the rationed goods. A person must submit the correct coupon and the cash value of each rationed item being purchased. Specific rationing generally is used to control the sale of scarce products that vary little in value and quality, such as gasoline and sugar. To use this rationing system for such goods as meat and clothing, which differ greatly in value and quality, there would have to be coupons for every variety of the products. For such products, the government uses point rationing, giving each rationed item a point value. The government also gives each individual or family a certain number of points to use when buying products that have point values.
The stages involved in creating an effective ration program may be difficult to carry out. A large government organization must be set up to decide which products will be rationed and what price controls will be put into effect. Also, laws must be established and enforced to prohibit black marketing, the selling of rationed products without proper coupons or points. Black markets operate because people want to buy larger amounts of certain products than the government allows and are willing to pay a high price for the products.
During World War II (1939-1945), the United States and other countries involved in the war rationed a wide variety of products, including automobiles, coffee, sugar, and tires. Today, periods of rationing are common for certain items that are in short supply in a number of developing nations, including India and Sri Lanka.
