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A 2014 image of product shortages in Venezuela. In economics, a shortage or excess demand is a situation in which the demand for a product or service exceeds its supply in a market. It is the opposite of an excess supply (surplus).
Shortages (in the technical sense) may be caused by: 1  Price ceilings, a type of price control which involves a government-imposed limit on the price of a product service. 2  Anti-price gouging laws. 3  Government ban on the sale of a product or service, such as prostitution or certain recreational drugs.