Rationing the immediate post-war period, rationing was in place until 1948. Shortages of food products were common in Poland at that time, but food rations also served another purpose. Cards were unevenly distributed by the Communist authorities—leading udarniks, known in Poland as "przodownicy pracy", were entitled to as much as 3700 calories daily, while some white-collar workers received as little as 600 calories a day. Rationing covered more than food products. From April 1952 to January 1953 and from August 1976 to November 1985 ration stamps were introduced for shoes, cigarettes, sugar, sweets, liquor, soap, baby diapers, tires, and cars. From
Grain rationing in China However demand exceeded supply and the agricultural sector produced very inefficiently. The government tried to solve this problem by introducing a grain rationing system, combining consumer rationing and compulsory purchases from producers. The gradual development of a free market put an end to the rationing system and introduced dual prices. This is where the price-scissors phenomena emerged. Figures assume that there are only two sectors (rural and urban) producing two goods (manufactures and food) and that the supply of the two goods is fixed. The amount of food that a peasant household will sell in exchange for manufactured goods can