BBC: McDonald’s runs out of milkshakes in England, Scotland and Wales
Article published: 24 August, 2021
IB Economics syllabus: Microeconomics (demand and supply, shortage)
Due to a shortage of truck drivers, milkshakes and bottled drinks are unavailable in as much as 1250 McDonald’s outlets across the UK. Thus, due to the lower availability of a factor of production, in this case, labour, there has been a huge fall in supply in the market of shakes, bottled drinks and even chicken. Due to this increased scarcity of resources, one can expect higher prices in the future as truck drivers are likely getting increased wages, which will definitely increase production costs. A good key concept here would be scarcity of resources or interdependence (just think of how the shortage of truck drivers – partly due to Brexit – affects the menus offered in UK fast food suppliers).
Source of image: GETTY images
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