Production quota

Last updated

A production quota is a goal for the production of a good. It is typically set by a government or an organization, and can be applied to an individual worker, firm, industry or country. Quotas can be set high to encourage production, or can be used to restrict production to support a certain price level. [1]

Contents

What is a quota?

A quota refers to a measure that limits, either minimum or maximum, on a particular activity. Quotas are usually enacted by governments or organizations to protect domestic industries. In short, it limits the number of goods a country can export or import during a certain period of time.

Criticism

Quotas, like other trade restrictions, are typically used to benefit the producers of a good at the expense of consumers in that economy. Possible effects include corruption (bribes to increase a quota allocation) or smuggling (concealed actions to exceed a quota).

Quotas disrupt normal business cycles and do not help innovation.[ citation needed ] While it may seem like a good idea for producers to enact a production quota, it has long-term negative consequences. Customers will often try to find alternative solutions. In the case of oil, people will either purchase different natural energy sources or work towards finding renewable energy sources. [2] Quotas also create deadweight loss. When a production quota has been added, there is a loss in consumer surplus and creation of deadweight loss. [3] This triangle is also known as the "Harberger Triangle". [4]

Examples

Crude oil

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is a key example of an organization that uses production quotas. The 14 member states set a production quota for crude oil. This "maintains" the cost of crude oil per barrel in world markets. [5]

Agricultural produce

Hunting

Other

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Economy of Iraq</span>

The economy of Iraq is dominated by the oil sector, which has provided about 99.7% of foreign exchange earnings during its modern history. As of 2021, the oil sector provides about 92% of foreign exchange earnings. Iraq's hitherto agrarian economy underwent rapid development following the 14 July Revolution (1958) which overthrew the Hashemite Iraqi monarchy. It had become the third-largest economy in the Middle East by 1980. This occurred in part because of the Iraqi government's successful industrialization and infrastructure development initiatives in the 1970s, which included irrigation projects, railway and highway construction, and rural electrification.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deadweight loss</span> Measure of lost economic efficiency

In economics, deadweight loss is the difference in production and consumption of any given product or service including government tax. The presence of deadweight loss is most commonly identified when the quantity produced relative to the amount consumed differs in regards to the optimal concentration of surplus. This difference in the amount reflects the quantity that is not being utilized or consumed and thus resulting in a loss. This "deadweight loss" is therefore attributed to both producers and consumers because neither one of them benefits from the surplus of the overall production.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Free trade</span> Absence of government restriction on international trade

Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold economically liberal positions, while economic nationalist and left-wing political parties generally support protectionism, the opposite of free trade.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">OPEC</span> Intergovernmental oil organization

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is an organization enabling the co-operation of leading oil-producing countries in order to collectively influence the global oil market and maximize profit. It was founded on 14 September 1960 in Baghdad by the first five members. The 13 member countries account for an estimated 30 percent of global oil production.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Price of oil</span> Spot price of a barrel of benchmark crude oil

The price of oil, or the oil price, generally refers to the spot price of a barrel of benchmark crude oil—a reference price for buyers and sellers of crude oil such as West Texas Intermediate (WTI), Brent Crude, Dubai Crude, OPEC Reference Basket, Tapis crude, Bonny Light, Urals oil, Isthmus, and Western Canadian Select (WCS). Oil prices are determined by global supply and demand, rather than any country's domestic production level.

For further details see the "Energy crisis" series by Facts on File.

Trade is a key factor of the economy of China. In the three decades following the dump of the Communist Chinese state in 1949, China's trade institutions at first developed into a partially modern but somewhat inefficient system. The drive to modernize the economy that began in 1978 required a sharp acceleration in commodity flows and greatly improved efficiency in economic transactions. In the ensuing years economic reforms were adopted by the government to develop a socialist market economy. This type of economy combined central planning with market mechanisms. The changes resulted in the decentralization and expansion of domestic and foreign trade institutions, as well as a greatly enlarged role for free market in the distribution of goods, and a prominent role for foreign trade and investment in economic development.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nationalization of oil supplies</span>

The nationalization of oil supplies refers to the process of confiscation of oil production operations and their property, generally for the purpose of obtaining more revenue from oil for the governments of oil-producing countries. This process, which should not be confused with restrictions on crude oil exports, represents a significant turning point in the development of oil policy. Nationalization eliminates private business operations—in which private international companies control oil resources within oil-producing countries—and transfers them to the ownership of the governments of those countries. Once these countries become the sole owners of these resources, they have to decide how to maximize the net present value of their known stock of oil in the ground. Several key implications can be observed as a result of oil nationalization. "On the home front, national oil companies are often torn between national expectations that they should 'carry the flag' and their own ambitions for commercial success, which might mean a degree of emancipation from the confines of a national agenda."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1980s oil glut</span> Oversupply of oil in the 1980s

The 1980s oil glut was a significant surplus of crude oil caused by falling demand following the 1970s energy crisis. The world price of oil had peaked in 1980 at over US$35 per barrel ; it fell in 1986 from $27 to below $10. The glut began in the early 1980s as a result of slowed economic activity in industrial countries due to the crises of the 1970s, especially in 1973 and 1979, and the energy conservation spurred by high fuel prices. The inflation-adjusted real 2004 dollar value of oil fell from an average of $78.2 in 1981 to an average of $26.8 per barrel in 1986.

Megacorpstate is a form of market structure that designs new strategies to systematize the cartel power in the world. This particular market framework consists of oligopolistic interdependent nations-states and multinational corporations, which have established alliance to own majority of the market power. The most prominent organizations within the structure are OPEC and the Seven Sisters that include Exxon, Mobil, Socal, Royal Dutch-Shell, BP, Texaco and Gulf. Regardless of its great influence, Megacorpstate does not have a major recognition in the world. The main reason for its unfamiliarity is its disinclination to characterize itself as a separate market structure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Petroleum industry in Kuwait</span>

The petroleum industry in Kuwait is the largest industry in the country, accounting nearly half of the country's GDP. Kuwait has proven crude oil reserves of 104 billion barrels (15 km³), estimated to be 9% of the world's reserves. Kuwait's oil reserves are the sixth largest in the world and the Burgan Field is the second largest oil field. Kuwait is the world's eleventh largest oil producer and seventh largest exporter. Kuwait's oil production accounts for 7% of world-wide oil production.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Venezuelan oil industry</span>

Venezuela has the world's largest proven oil reserves at an estimated 304 billion barrels as of 2020. The country was previously one of the world's largest exporters of oil, but the oil industry saw a significant decline since its peak in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Petroleum in the United States</span>

Petroleum has been a major industry in the United States since shortly after the oil discovery in the Oil Creek area of Titusville, Pennsylvania, in 1859. The industry includes exploration, production, processing (refining), transportation, and marketing of natural gas and petroleum products. In 2018, the U.S. became the world's largest crude oil producer, producing 15% of global crude oil, surpassing Russia and Saudi Arabia. The leading oil-producing area in the United States in 2019 was Texas, followed by the offshore federal zone of the Gulf of Mexico, North Dakota and New Mexico. In 2020, the top five U.S. oil-producing states were Texas (43%), North Dakota (10.4%), New Mexico (9.2%), Oklahoma (4.1%), and Colorado (4.0%).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Gold (Control) Act, 1968</span> Act of the Parliament of India, replaces Act 18 of 1965

The Gold (Control) Act, 1968 is a repealed Act of the Parliament of India which was enacted to control sale and holding of gold in personal possession. High demand for gold in India with negligible indigenous production results in gold imports, leading to drastic devaluation of the Indian rupee and depletion of foreign exchange reserves to alarming levels. Devaluation of the Indian rupee also leads to steep rises in food commodity prices due to costlier petroleum products imports. In these circumstances, the gold import policy of India aimed at curbing the gold imports to a manageable level time to time by imposing taxes and legal restrictions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Energy in Qatar</span>

Energy in Qatar describes energy production, consumption, and policies of the State of Qatar. The International Monetary Fund ranked Qatar as having the fifth highest GDP per capita in 2016 with a 60,787 USD per capita nominal GDP over a population of 2.421 million inhabitants. In 2014, oil and natural gas production made up 51.1% of Qatar's nominal GDP. Thus, Qatar has a worldwide high ranking of per capita GDP due to its significance production and exports in both crude oil and natural gas in proportion to its relatively small population.

The posted price of oil was the price at which oil companies offered to purchase oil from oil-producing governments. This price was set by the oil companies and used to calculate the share of oil revenues that oil-producing countries would receive. Between 1957 and 1972, the posted price was greater than the market price of crude oil. Between 1961 and 1970 the market price hovered between $1.30 and $1.50 per barrel, while the posted price was a constant $1.80.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 Russia–Saudi Arabia oil price war</span> 2020 oil price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia

On 8 March 2020, Saudi Arabia initiated a price war on oil with Russia, which facilitated a 65% quarterly fall in the price of oil. The price war was triggered by a break-up in dialogue between the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and Russia over proposed oil-production cuts in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Russia walked out of the agreement, leading to the fall of the OPEC+ alliance.

As part of the sanctions imposed on the Russian Federation as a result of the Russo-Ukrainian War, on September 2, 2022, finance ministers of the G7 group of nations agreed to cap the price of Russian oil and petroleum products in an effort intended to reduce Russia's ability to finance its war on Ukraine while at the same time hoping to curb further increases to the 2021–2023 inflation surge.

References

  1. Parkin, Michael; Powell, Melanie; Matthews, Kent (2007). Economics. Pearson Education. p. 134. ISBN   978-0-13-204122-5 . Retrieved 25 March 2009.
  2. Investing Answers 2019, 'Quota', Investing Answers, viewed 8 March 2020, <https://investinganswers.com/dictionary/q/quota>.
  3. 1 2 Schmitz, A, Haynes, D, & Schmitz, T G 2016, ‘The Not-So-Simple Economics of Production Quota Buyouts’, Journal of Agriculture and Applied Economics vol. 48, no. 2, pp. 119-147.
  4. Hines, J R Jr. 1998, 'Three Sides of Harberger Triangles', National Bureau of Economic Research, Working Paper 6852.
  5. Investing Answers 2019, 'Quota', Investing Answers, viewed 8 March 2020, <https://investinganswers.com/dictionary/q/quota>
  6. Hurt, R D 2002, Problems of Plenty: The American Farmer in the Twentieth Century, Chicago, Ivan R. Dee.