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Rationing is the controlled distribution of scarce resources, goods, services, or an artificial restriction of demand. Rationing controls the size of the ration, which is one's allowed portion of the resources being distributed on a particular day or at a particular time. There are many forms of rationing, although rationing by price is most prevalent. Rationing is often done to keep price below the
market-clearing In economics, market clearing is the process by which, in an economic market, the supply of whatever is traded is equated to the demand so that there is no excess supply or demand. The new classical economics assumes that in any given market, assum ...
price determined by the process of
supply and demand In microeconomics, supply and demand is an economic model of price determination in a Market (economics), market. It postulates that, Ceteris paribus, holding all else equal, in a perfect competition, competitive market, the unit price for a ...
in an unfettered market. Thus, rationing can be complementary to
price controls Price controls are restrictions set in place and enforced by governments, on the prices that can be charged for goods and services in a market. The intent behind implementing such controls can stem from the desire to maintain affordability of good ...
. An example of rationing in the face of rising prices took place in the various countries where there was rationing of gasoline during the
1973 energy crisis The 1973 oil crisis or first oil crisis began in October 1973 when the members of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC), led by Saudi Arabia, proclaimed an oil embargo. The embargo was targeted at nations that had supp ...
. A reason for setting the price lower than would clear the market may be that there is a shortage, which would drive the market price very high. High prices, especially in the case of necessities, are undesirable with regard to those who cannot afford them. Traditionalist economists argue, however, that high prices act to reduce waste of the scarce resource while also providing incentive to produce more. Rationing using
ration stamp A ration stamp, ration coupon or ration card is a stamp or card issued by a government to allow the holder to obtain food or other commodities that are in short supply during wartime or in other emergency situations when rationing is in forc ...
s is only one kind of non-price rationing. For example,
scarce In economics, scarcity "refers to the basic fact of life that there exists only a finite amount of human and nonhuman resources which the best technical knowledge is capable of using to produce only limited maximum amounts of each economic good. ...
products can be rationed using queues. This is seen, for example, at
amusement park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...
s, where one pays a price to get in and then need not pay any price to go on the rides. Similarly, in the absence of
road pricing Road pricing (also road user charges) are direct charges levied for the use of roads, including road tolls, distance or time-based fees, congestion charges and charges designed to discourage the use of certain classes of vehicle, fuel sour ...
, access to roads is rationed in a
first come, first served Queueing theory is the mathematical study of waiting lines, or queues. A queueing model is constructed so that queue lengths and waiting time can be predicted. Queueing theory is generally considered a branch of operations research because the ...
queueing Queue areas are places in which people queue (first-come, first-served) for goods or services. Such a group of people is known as a ''queue'' (British usage) or ''line'' (American usage), and the people are said to be waiting or standing ''in ...
process, leading to congestion. Authorities which introduce rationing often have to deal with the rationed goods being sold illegally on the
black market A black market, underground economy, or shadow economy is a clandestine market or series of transactions that has some aspect of illegality or is characterized by noncompliance with an institutional set of rules. If the rule defines the se ...
. Despite the fact that rationing systems are sometimes necessary as the only viable option for societies facing severe consumer goods shortages, they are usually extremely unpopular with the general public, as they enforce limits on individual consumption.


Civilian rationing

Rationing for civilians has most often been instituted during wartime. For example, each person may be given what's known as a "ration
coupon In marketing, a coupon is a ticket or document that can be redeemed for a financial discount or rebate when purchasing a product. Customarily, coupons are issued by manufacturers of consumer packaged goods or by retailers, to be used in r ...
" allowing them to purchase a certain amount of a product each month. Rationing often includes
food Food is any substance consumed by an organism for nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or fungal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is inge ...
and other necessities for which there is a shortage, including materials needed for the war effort such as rubber tires, leather shoes, clothing, and fuel. Rationing of food and water may also become necessary during an emergency, such as a
natural disaster A natural disaster is "the negative impact following an actual occurrence of natural hazard in the event that it significantly harms a community". A natural disaster can cause loss of life or damage property, and typically leaves some econ ...
or
terror attack Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
. In the U.S., the
Federal Emergency Management Agency The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Exec ...
(FEMA) has established guidelines for rationing food and water when replacements are not available. According to FEMA standards, every person should have a minimum of per day of water, and more for children, nursing mothers, and the ill.


Origins

Military
siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition warfare, attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity con ...
s have often resulted in shortages of food and other essentials. In such circumstances, the rations allocated to an individual are often determined based on age, sex, race or social standing. During the
Siege of Lucknow The siege of Lucknow was the prolonged defence of the British Residency within the city of Lucknow from rebel sepoys (Indian soldiers in the British East India Company's Army) during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. After two successive relief att ...
(part of the
Indian Rebellion of 1857 The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the fo ...
) a woman received three-quarters of a man's food ration. Children received only half. During the
Siege of Ladysmith The siege of Ladysmith was a protracted engagement in the Second Boer War, taking place between 2 November 1899 and 28 February 1900 at Ladysmith, Natal. Background As war with the Boer republics appeared likely in June 1899, the War Office ...
in the early stages of the
Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sou ...
in 1900
white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
adults received the same food rations as soldiers while children received half that. Food rations for
Indian people Indians or Indian people are the Indian nationality law, citizens and nationals of India. In 2022, the population of India stood at over 1.4 billion people, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most p ...
and
black people Black is a racialized classification of people, usually a political and skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin; in certain countries, often in s ...
were significantly smaller. The first modern rationing systems were imposed during the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. In
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, suffering from the effects of the British blockade, a rationing system was introduced in 1914 and was steadily expanded over the following years as the situation worsened. Although
Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
did not suffer from food shortages, as the sea lanes were kept open for food imports,
panic buying Panic buying (alternatively hyphenated as panic-buying; also known as panic purchasing) occurs when consumers buy unusually large amounts of a product in anticipation of, or after, a disaster or perceived disaster, or in anticipation of a large ...
towards the end of the war prompted the rationing of first
sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...
and then
meat Meat is animal flesh that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted, farmed, and scavenged animals for meat since prehistoric times. The establishment of settlements in the Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of animals such as chic ...
. It is said to have benefited the overall health of the country, through the "levelling of consumption of essential foodstuffs". To assist with rationing, ration books were introduced on 1918 for butter, margarine, lard, meat, and sugar. During the war, average caloric intake decreased only three percent, but protein intake six percent. Food rationing appeared in
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
after the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, and
ration stamp A ration stamp, ration coupon or ration card is a stamp or card issued by a government to allow the holder to obtain food or other commodities that are in short supply during wartime or in other emergency situations when rationing is in forc ...
s were in use until the end of the
Polish–Soviet War The Polish–Soviet War (Polish–Bolshevik War, Polish–Soviet War, Polish–Russian War 1919–1921) * russian: Советско-польская война (''Sovetsko-polskaya voyna'', Soviet-Polish War), Польский фронт (' ...
.


Second World War

Rationing became common during the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
Ration stamps A ration stamp, ration coupon or ration card is a stamp or card issued by a government to allow the holder to obtain food or other commodities that are in short supply during wartime or in other emergency situations when rationing is in for ...
were often used. These were redeemable stamps or coupons, and every family was issued a set number of each kind of stamp based on the size of the family, ages of children, and income. The British
Ministry of Food An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister f ...
refined the rationing process in the early 1940s to ensure the population did not starve when food imports were severely restricted and local production limited due to the large number of men fighting the war. Rationing on a scientific basis was pioneered by
Elsie Widdowson Elsie Widdowson (21 October 1906 – 14 June 2000), was a British dietitian and nutritionist. She and Dr Robert McCance, a pediatrician, physiologist, biochemist, and nutritionist, were responsible for overseeing the government-mandated additi ...
and
Robert McCance Robert Alexander McCance, CBE, FRS (9 December 1898 in Ulster– 3 March 1993 in Cambridge) was a British paediatrician, physiologist, biochemist and nutritionist and was the first Professor of Experimental Medicine at the University of Cambridge ...
at the Department of Experimental Medicine,
University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
. They worked on the chemical composition of the human body, and on the nutritional value of different flours used to make bread. Widdowson also studied the impact of infant diet on human growth. They studied the differing effects from deficiencies of salt and of water and produced the first tables to compare the nutritional contents of foods before and after cooking. They co-authored ''The Chemical Composition of Foods'', first published in 1940 by the Medical Research Council. Their book, "McCance and Widdowson", became known as the dietician's bible and formed the basis for modern nutritional thinking. In 1939, they tested whether the United Kingdom could survive with only domestic food production if
U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...
s ended all imports. Using 1938 food-production data, they fed themselves and other volunteers a limited diet, while simulating the strenuous wartime physical work Britons would likely have to perform. The scientists found that the subjects' health and performance remained very good after three months. They also headed the first ever mandated addition of vitamins and minerals to food, beginning with adding
calcium Calcium is a chemical element with the symbol Ca and atomic number 20. As an alkaline earth metal, calcium is a reactive metal that forms a dark oxide-nitride layer when exposed to air. Its physical and chemical properties are most similar to ...
to bread. Their work became the basis of the wartime austerity diet promoted by the
Minister of Food The Minister of Food Control (1916–1921) and the Minister of Food (1939–1958) were British government ministerial posts separated from that of the Minister of Agriculture. In the Great War the Ministry sponsored a network of canteens known as ...
,
Lord Woolton Frederick James Marquis, 1st Earl of Woolton, (23 August 1883 – 14 December 1964) was an English businessman and politician who served as chairman of the Conservative Party from 1946 to 1955. In April 1940, he was appointed Minister of Food ...
. The British public's wartime diet was never as severe as in the Cambridge study because German U-boats failed to halt US convoys, but rationing improved the health of British people: infant mortality declined and life expectancy rose. This was because everyone had access to a varied diet with enough nutrients. The first commodity to be controlled was petrol. On 8 January 1940, bacon, butter and sugar were rationed. This was followed by successive rationing schemes for meat, tea, jam, biscuits,
breakfast cereals Cereal, formally termed breakfast cereal (and further categorized as cold cereal or warm cereal), is a traditional breakfast food made from processed cereal grains. It is traditionally eaten as part of breakfast, or a snack food, primarily in ...
, cheese, eggs, lard, milk, and canned and dried fruit. Fresh vegetables and fruit were not rationed, but supplies were limited. Many people grew their own vegetables, greatly encouraged by the highly successful "
Digging for Victory Victory gardens, also called war gardens or food gardens for defense, were vegetable, fruit, and herb gardens planted at private residences and public parks in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and Germany during World War I ...
" campaign. Most controversial was bread; it was not rationed until after the war ended, but the " national loaf" of wholemeal bread replaced the ordinary white variety, to the distaste of most housewives who found it mushy, grey, and easy to blame for digestive problems. Fish was not rationed, but fish prices increased considerably as the war progressed. In summer 1941, the British appealed to Americans to conserve food to provide more to go to Britons fighting in the Second World War. The
Office of Price Administration The Office of Price Administration (OPA) was established within the Office for Emergency Management of the United States government by Executive Order 8875 on August 28, 1941. The functions of the OPA were originally to control money (price contr ...
(OPA) warned Americans of potential gasoline, steel, aluminum and electricity shortages. It believed that with factories converting to military production and consuming many critical supplies, rationing would become necessary if the country entered the war. It established a rationing system after the
attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, j ...
. In June 1942 the
Combined Food Board The Combined Food Board was a temporary World War II government agency that allocated the combined economic resources of the United States and the United Kingdom. It was set up by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston Churchill ...
was set up to coordinate the worldwide supply of food to the Allies, with special attention to flows from the U.S. and Canada to Britain. American civilians first received ration books—War Ration Book Number One, or the "Sugar Book"—on 4 May 1942, through more than 100,000 school teachers, Parent-Teacher Associations, and other volunteers.
Sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...
was the first consumer commodity rationed. Bakeries, ice cream makers, and other commercial users received rations of about 70% of normal usage.
Coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulant, stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. S ...
was rationed on 27 November 1942 to every five weeks. By the end of 1942, ration coupons were used for nine other items. Typewriters, gasoline, bicycles, footwear, silk, nylon, fuel oil, stoves, meat, lard, shortening and cooking oils, cheese, butter, margarine,
processed food Convenience food, also called tertiary processed food, is food that is commercially prepared (often through processing) to optimise ease of consumption. Such food is usually ready to eat without further preparation. It may also be easily por ...
s (canned, bottled, and frozen), dried fruits, canned milk, firewood and coal, jams, jellies, and
fruit butter A fruit butter is a sweet spread made of fruit cooked to a paste, then lightly sweetened. It falls into the same category as jelly and jam. Apple butter and plum butter are common examples. Fruit pastes, such as quince cheese are popular in La ...
s were rationed by November 1943. The work of issuing ration books and exchanging used stamps for certificates was handled by some 5,500 local ration boards of mostly volunteers. As a result of the gasoline rationing, all forms of automobile racing, including the
Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...
, were banned. All rationing in the United States ended in 1946. In the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
food was rationed from 1941 to 1947. In particular, daily bread rations in besieged Leningrad were initially set at 800 grams. By the end of 1941 the bread rations were reduced to 250 grams for workers and 125 grams for everyone else, which resulted in a surge of deaths caused by starvation. Starting in 1942 daily bread rations were increased to 350 grams for workers and 200 grams for everyone else. One of the documents of the period is the diary of
Tanya Savicheva Tatyana Nikolayevna Savicheva (russian: Татья́на Никола́евна Са́вичева), commonly referred to as Tanya Savicheva (23 January 1930 – 1 July 1944), was a Russian child diary, diarist who endured the siege of Leningra ...
, who recorded the deaths of each member of her family during the siege. Rationing was also introduced to a number of British dominions, and colonies, with rationing of clothing imposed in Australia, from 12 June 1942, and certain foodstuffs from 1943. Canada rationed tea, coffee, sugar, butter and mechanical spares, between 1942 and 1947. The Cochin, Travancore and Madras states, of
British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
elected to ration grain between the fall of 1943 and spring 1944. Egypt introduced a ration card-based subsidy of essential foodstuffs in 1945 that has persisted into the 21st century. New Zealand rationing in began in 1942 and was abolished on most foods in 1948, but continued on butter until 1950. Many countries had
gasoline Gasoline (; ) or petrol (; ) (see ) is a transparent, petroleum-derived flammable liquid that is used primarily as a fuel in most spark-ignited internal combustion engines (also known as petrol engines). It consists mostly of organic co ...
rationing that determined how much gasoline could be filled in a fuel tank, depending on whether the driver was essential to the war effort. An example rationing system is the following: * G1  stickers can have up to of gas. * G2  stickers can have up to of gas. * G3  stickers can have up to of gas. * G4  stickers can have up to of gas. * G5  stickers can have up to of gas, for their war effort. * G6  stickers can have up to of gas, for their war effort, doctors, school staff, school district staff, church head, newsreel equipment delivery, and other people got these. * T1  stickers can have up to of gas. * T2  stickers can have unlimited amounts of gas, for their war effort. * A  stickers can have up to of gas, for getting that optional milage ration. * B  stickers can have up to of gas, for getting that optional milage ration. * C  stickers can have up to of gas, for getting that optional milage ration. * X1  stickers can have unlimited amounts of gas, for their war effort. * X2  stickers can have unlimited amounts of gas, for getting that optional milage ration.


Peacetime rationing

Civilian peacetime rationing of food has been employed after natural disasters, during contingencies, or after failed governmental economic policies regarding production or distribution, as well as due to extensive
austerity Austerity is a set of political-economic policies that aim to reduce government budget deficits through spending cuts, tax increases, or a combination of both. There are three primary types of austerity measures: higher taxes to fund spend ...
programs implemented to cut or restrict public spending in countries where the rationed goods previously relied on government procurement or subsidies, as was the case in Israel. In the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
, the rationing system remained in place for years after the end of the
War War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
. In some respects it was more strict after the war than during it—two major foodstuffs that were never rationed during the war, bread and potatoes, were rationed after it (bread from 1946 to 1948, and potatoes for a time from 1947). Tea was still rationed until 1952. In 1953 rationing of sugar and eggs ended, and in 1954, all rationing finally ended when cheese and meats came off ration. Sugar was again rationed in 1974 after Caribbean producers began selling to the more lucrative United States market. Some centralized
planned economies A planned economy is a type of economic system where investment, production and the allocation of capital goods takes place according to economy-wide economic plans and production plans. A planned economy may use centralized, decentralized, part ...
introduced peacetime rationing systems due to food shortages in the postwar period.
North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...
and
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
did so in the 1970s and 1980s, as did Romania during Ceausescu's rule in the 1980s, the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
in 1990–1991, and from 1962–present in
Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
. From 1949 to 1959,
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
was under a regime of austerity, during which rationing was enforced. At first, only staple foods such as cooking oil, sugar, and margarine were rationed, but it was later expanded, and eventually included furniture and footwear. Every month, each citizen would get food coupons worth six
Israeli pound The pound or lira ( he, לירה ישראלית ''Lira Yisra'elit'', ar, جنيه إسرائيلي ''Junayh ʾIsrāʾīlī''; abbreviation: IL in Latin alphabet, Latin, ל"י in Hebrew script, Hebrew; code ) was the currency of the Israel, State ...
s, and every family would be allotted food. The average Israeli diet was 2,800 calories a day, with additional calories for children, the elderly, and pregnant women. Following the 1952
Reparations Agreement between Israel and West Germany The Reparations Agreement between Israel and the Federal Republic of Germany (German: ''Luxemburger Abkommen'' "Luxembourg Agreement" or ''Wiedergutmachungsabkommen'' "''Wiedergutmachung'' Agreement", Hebrew: ''הסכם השילומים'' ''Heske ...
, and the subsequent influx of foreign capital, Israel's economy was bolstered, and in 1953, most restrictions were cancelled. In 1958, the list of rationed goods was narrowed to just eleven, and in 1959, it was narrowed to only jam, sugar, and coffee. Petroleum products were rationed in many countries following the
1973 oil crisis The 1973 oil crisis or first oil crisis began in October 1973 when the members of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC), led by Saudi Arabia, proclaimed an oil embargo. The embargo was targeted at nations that had supp ...
. The
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
introduced
odd–even rationing Odd–even rationing is a method of rationing in which access to some resource is restricted to some of the population on any given day. In a common example, drivers of private vehicles may be allowed to drive, park, or purchase gasoline on altern ...
for fuels during the crisis, which allowed only vehicles with even-numbered
numberplate A vehicle registration plate, also known as a number plate (British English), license plate (American English), or licence plate ( Canadian English), is a metal or plastic plate attached to a motor vehicle or trailer for official identificat ...
s to fill up on gas one day and odd-numbered ones on another.
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
enacted rationing in 1981 to cope with economic crisis. The rationing system initially encompassed most of the population's daily necessities, but was gradually phased out over time, with the last ration being abolished in 1989.
Rationing in Cuba Rationing in Cuba is organized by the government and implemented by means of a ''Libreta de Abastecimiento'' ("Supplies booklet") assigned to every individual. The system establishes the amounts of subsidized rations each person is allowed to re ...
for basic goods was enacted in 1991 following the collapse of the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
, which had previously subsidised the island nation's economy. Rationing started being phased out in the year 2000 at the end of the "special period", as Cuba had shifted to a more diversified and self-sustaining economy. Rationing, however, was not fully abolished and instead turned into an alternative way to purchase goods, in addition to the markets. This makes a curious departure from classical rationing, as during the 2001-2019 period, the rationing system was used in addition to, instead of as a replacement for regular markets. Cubans would be able to buy a certain amount of items at 'liberated' prices using ration coupons at a significantly reduced rate, while still being able to purchase more at regular market prices. This 'liberated' system persisted even during Cuba's period of economic growth and relative prosperity during the early and mid 2010s and enjoyed considerable popularity among the island's citizens. Cuba later re-introduced a classical limiting rationing system in 2019, following the imposition of strict sanctions on the island by US President
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
, as well as the collapse of petroleum shipments from
Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
, which was facing its own economic troubles at that time. Cuba's president pitched the new system as significantly more lenient than the 1991-2000 "special period", though admitted that it would negatively affect consumption. Short-term rationing for gas and other fuels was introduced in the
U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
states of
New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
and
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
following
Hurricane Sandy Hurricane Sandy (unofficially referred to as ''Superstorm Sandy'') was an extremely destructive and strong Atlantic hurricane, as well as the largest Atlantic hurricane on record as measured by diameter, with tropical-storm-force winds spann ...
in 2012. In April 2019,
Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
announced a 30-day electricity rationing regime in the face of power shortages. For a few years during a series of droughts in California (from 2015 to 2019), the
California State Water Resources Control Board The California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) is one of six branches of the California Environmental Protection Agency. History This regulatory program has had the status of an official government department since the 1950s. The Sta ...
had mandatory water-use restrictions. In 2021,
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
, facing a major economic crisis, is considering introducing food rationing. According to ''
The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...
'', "President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has called in the army to manage the crisis by rationing the supply of various essential goods."


Refugee aid rations

Aid agencies, such as the
World Food Programme The World Food Programme; it, Programma alimentare mondiale; es, Programa Mundial de Alimentos; ar, برنامج الأغذية العالمي, translit=barnamaj al'aghdhiat alealami; russian: Всемирная продовольствен ...
, provide food rations and other essentials to
refugees A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution.
or
internally displaced person An internally displaced person (IDP) is someone who is forced to leave their home but who remains within their country's borders. They are often referred to as refugees, although they do not fall within the legal definitions of a refugee. A ...
s who are registered with the
UNHCR The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integrati ...
and are either living in
refugee camps A refugee camp is a temporary settlement built to receive refugees and people in refugee-like situations. Refugee camps usually accommodate displaced people who have fled their home country, but camps are also made for internally displaced peo ...
or are supported in urban centres. Every registered refugee is given a ration card upon registration which is used for collecting the rations from food distribution centres. The 2,100 calories allocated per person per day is based on minimal standards and is frequently not achieved, as has been the case in Kenya. According to Article 20 of the
Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees The Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, also known as the 1951 Refugee Convention or the Geneva Convention of 28 July 1951, is a United Nations multilateral treaty that defines who a refugee is, and sets out the rights of individual ...
refugees shall be treated as national citizens in rationing schemes when there is a rationing system in place for the general population.


Other types


Health care rationing

As the British
Royal Commission on the National Health Service The Royal Commission on the National Health Service was set up by the Wilson government in 1975. It was to consider the "best use and management of the financial and manpower resources of the NHS". The Royal Commission reported in June 1979, by ...
observed in 1979, "whatever the expenditure on health care, demand is likely to rise to meet and exceed it." Rationing health care to control costs is regarded as an explosive issue in the US, but in reality health care is rationed everywhere. In places where the government provides healthcare rationing is explicit. In other places people are denied treatment because of personal lack of funds, or because of decisions made by insurance companies. The American Supreme Court approved paying doctors to ration care, saying that there must be "some incentive connecting physician reward with treatment rationing". Shortages of organs for donation forces the rationing of organs for transplant even where funding is available. See also
Healthcare rationing in the United States Healthcare rationing in the United States exists in various forms. Access to private health insurance is rationed on price and ability to pay. Those unable to afford a health insurance policy are unable to acquire a private plan except by employer ...


Credit rationing

Credit rationing Credit rationing is the limiting by lenders of the supply of additional credit to borrowers who demand funds at a set quoted rate by the financial institution. It is an example of market failure, as the price mechanism fails to bring about equili ...
describes a situation wherein a bank limits the
supply Supply may refer to: *The amount of a resource that is available **Supply (economics), the amount of a product which is available to customers **Materiel, the goods and equipment for a military unit to fulfill its mission *Supply, as in confidenc ...
of loans, even when it has enough funds to loan, and the provision of loans has not yet equaled the
demand In economics, demand is the quantity of a good that consumers are willing and able to purchase at various prices during a given time. The relationship between price and quantity demand is also called the demand curve. Demand for a specific item ...
of prospective borrowers. Changing the price of the loans (interest rate) does not balance loan demand and supply.


Carbon rationing

Personal carbon trading refers to proposed
emissions trading Emissions trading is a market-based approach to controlling pollution by providing economic incentives for reducing the emissions of pollutants. The concept is also known as cap and trade (CAT) or emissions trading scheme (ETS). Carbon emission t ...
schemes under which emissions credits are allocated to adult individuals on a (broadly) equal
per capita ''Per capita'' is a Latin phrase literally meaning "by heads" or "for each head", and idiomatically used to mean "per person". The term is used in a wide variety of social sciences and statistical research contexts, including government statistic ...
basis, within national carbon budgets. Individuals then surrender these credits when buying fuel or electricity. Individuals wanting or needing to emit at a level above that permitted by their initial allocation would be able to engage in emissions trading and purchase additional credits. Conversely, those individuals who emit at a level below that permitted by their initial allocation have the opportunity to sell their surplus credits. Thus, individual trading under Personal Carbon Trading is similar to the trading of companies under
EU ETS The European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) is a "cap and trade" scheme where a limit is placed on the right to emit specified pollutants over an area and companies can trade emission rights within that area. It covers around 45% of th ...
. Personal carbon trading is sometimes confused with
carbon offset A carbon offset is a reduction or removal of emissions of carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases made in order to compensate for emissions made elsewhere. Offsets are measured in tonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalent (CO2e). One ton of carbon ...
ting due to the similar notion of paying for emissions allowances, but is a quite different concept designed to be mandatory and to guarantee that nations achieve their domestic carbon emissions targets (rather than attempting to do so via international trading or offsetting).


Rationing mechanisms

The purpose of rationing is to guarantee a minimum of some resource or to impose a maximum limit on its use. (The latter is the case with carbon rationing, where the scarcity is artificial). Usually, the government determines a fair ration, for example, one proportional to the number of family members. If participants possess different rights to a portion (even when they have the same need) and there is not enough for everyone, then one of the many algorithms for solving the
bankruptcy problem A bankruptcy problem, also called a claims problem, is a problem of distributing a homogeneous divisible good (such as money) among people with different claims. The focus is on the case where the amount is insufficient to satisfy all the claims. ...
may apply. At other times, the ration can only be estimated by the beneficiary, such as a factory for which energy is to be rationed. In such cases, a mechanism is needed to discourage misreporting the needs or wants (i.e., to meet strategy-proofness). Suppose every participant reports an ideal ration. For so-called uniform rationing, each ration is set to the minimum of the participant's ideal ration and a cap, the cap being determined so that the sum of the rations equals the amount available. So, loosely speaking, the participant asking least will be served first. This mechanism is strategy-proof, avoids unnecessary waste (Pareto optimality) and equally treats equals (anonymity.) In fact, it is the only such mechanism. (Anonymity in this statement can be replaced by envyfreeness). For the redistribution of scarce goods to demanders by suppliers, see non-monetary microeconomies. For smooth
supply chain management In commerce, supply chain management (SCM) is the management of the flow of goods and services including all processes that transform raw materials into final products between businesses and locations. This can include the movement and stor ...
the supplies may be rationed, which is sometimes referred to as the rationing game. The references mentioned here are a small sample of the literature about rationing inventories.


See also

*
Basic income Universal basic income (UBI) is a social welfare proposal in which all citizens of a given population regularly receive an unconditional transfer payment, that is, without a means test or need to work. It would be received independently of a ...
*
Colorado River Compact The Colorado River Compact is a 1922 agreement among the seven southwest U.S. states that fall within the Colorado River drainage basin. The pact governs the allocation of the river's water rights. The agreement, originally proposed by attorney ...
*
Food bank A food bank is a non-profit, charitable organization that distributes food to those who have difficulty purchasing enough to avoid hunger, usually through intermediaries like food pantries and soup kitchens. Some food banks distribute food direc ...
*
Food stamps In the United States, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as the Food Stamp Program, is a federal program that provides food-purchasing assistance for low- and no-income people. It is a federal aid program, ad ...
* Grain rationing in China * 2007 Gas Rationing Plan in Iran * Juntas de Abastecimientos y Precios, rationing in 
Chile under Allende Salvador Allende was the president of Chile from 1970 until his 1973 suicide, and head of the Popular Unity government; he was a Socialist and Marxist elected to the national presidency of a liberal democracy in Latin America.Don MabryAllend ...
*
Military rations Military rations are food intended to feed military personnel. Types of military rations include garrison rations and field rations. They may be used where fresh meals are not available. Australia * Combat Ration One Man (CR1M) Canada * Indiv ...
* Rationing in Nicaragua *
Rationing in the Soviet Union Rationing in the Soviet Union was introduced twice since its creation, both instances during periods of economical hardships. 1931–1935 In 1931, the Politburo introduced a unified rationing system for foodstuffs and basic commodities and norms of ...
*
Rationing in the United States Rationing is the controlled distribution of scarce resources, goods, or services, or an artificial restriction of demand. Rationing controls the size of the ration, which is one person's allotted portion of the resources being distributed on a par ...
*
Road space rationing Road space rationing, also known as alternate-day travel, driving restriction and no-drive days ( es, restricción vehicular; pt, rodízio veicular; french: circulation alternée), is a travel demand management strategy aimed to reduce the ne ...
*
Salt lists During the American Civil War, the Union blockade interrupted the normal sources of salt for the Confederate states. Georgia, Alabama and other southern states began a rationing process to ensure fair distribution. Many of the states handed rationin ...


References


Further reading


Allocation of Ventilators in an Influenza Pandemic
Report of New York State Task Force on Life and the Law, 2007. * Matt Gouras. "Frist Defends Flu Shots for Congress." ''Associated Press''. October 21, 2004. *


External links


Are You Ready?: An In-depth Guide to Citizen Preparedness
- FEMA

- Spartacus Educational

- Memories of the 1940s
Ration Coupons on the Home Front, 1942-1945 - Duke University Libraries Digital Collections
- Ames Historical Society

- Genealogy Today * ttps://web.archive.org/web/20090224003647/http://www.taxrationing.com/ Tax Rationingbr>Recipe for Victory:Food and Cooking in Wartime
{{Authority control Civilians in war Military logistics Disaster preparedness