Question

In the 2000s, Venezuelan President Hugo Chàvez instituted economic policies that caused smuggling and hoarding of food. What did Chàvez do to create this behavior, and which zone (represented by a letter) on the graph represents the result?

Answer 1

Chavez set a price ceiling on food. This is represented by the letter C - A price ceiling is a control or limit imposed by a government over how high a price can be charged for a product. By doing this, Hugo Chavez made a huge blunder, since it resulted in the quantity of food demanded exceeding the quantity supplied. This in turn resulted in people smuggling and hoarding food.