Question

In late​ 2018, malnutrition was widespread in Venezuela. Writing in an opinion column in the New York Times​, Javier Corrales​ argued, "The government is making the crisis worse by...imposing more price​ controls." ​Source: Javier​ Corrales, "The Venezuelan Crisis Is Part of​ Maduro's Plan," New York Times​, September​ 25, 2018. ​Shouldn't price controls help reduce malnutrition by lowering the price of food so more people can afford​ it? A. No. Price controls are intended exclusively to help support farmers to ensure that they are receiving a high enough price for their products to be able to keep supplying food. B. No. Imposing a price control below the equilibrium price in a market causes the quantity of the good available to consumers to fall because sellers will supply a smaller​ quantity, thereby causing some consumers to go without food that they would have been able to buy in the absence of the price control. C. Yes. Price​ controls, by​ definition, will always help reduce malnutrition by lowering the price of food so more people can afford it. D. No. Imposing a price control above the equilibrium price in a market causes the quantity of the good available to consumers to fall because sellers will supply a smaller​ quantity, thereby causing some consumers to go without food that they would have been able to buy in the absence of the price control.

Answer 1

Answer: B. No. Imposing a price control below the equilibrium price in a market causes the quantity of the good available to consumers to fall because sellers will supply a smaller​ quantity, thereby causing some consumers to go without food that they would have been able to buy in the absence of the price control.

Explanation:

If price controls are introduced below the equilibrium price in the market, farmers or sellers will supply less to the market because they will not be incentivized to produce more seeing as they are not making what they should be making.

This, coupled with increased demand on account of food being cheaper, will lead to shortages which would mean that those that could have been able to afford the food at the equilibrium price would not be able to access food leading to even worse food shortages.