Rationing During COVID-19: Is an ‘Equal Share’ Always Fair?

Jane Brown () and Chrysostomos Apostolidis
Additional contact information
Jane Brown: Newcastle University
Chrysostomos Apostolidis: Durham University

Chapter Chapter 2 in Consumption, Production, and Entrepreneurship in the Time of Coronavirus, 2022, pp 11-37 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract In response to grocery shortages during COVID-19, UK supermarkets limited the number of products consumers could buy, to keep products on the shelves for longer, discourage stockpiling, and help fairer distribution. The effectiveness of this strategy has been questioned, as shortages continued for months and reappeared during further waves of the virus. To better understand the consumer perspective, primary data collected online from over 400 respondents during the UK’s initial lockdown period has been analyzed. By drawing on key concepts from hoarding and scarcity literature, such as commodity theory, the bandwagon effect, and regret theory, we identify factors that influence the effectiveness of the pandemic rationing policies. The broader themes of consumer (dis)empowerment, routine disruption, and emotional fallout are considered, with recommendations for future strategies provided. The findings highlight the importance of timing, consistency, and communication for implemented strategies, and the need to consider the difference between ‘equal’ and ‘fair’ product distribution.

Keywords: Consumer disempowerment; Emotional fallout; Grocery products; Rationing; Routine disruption (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-3-030-93169-8_2

Ordering information: This item can be ordered from
http://www.springer.com/9783030931698

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-93169-8_2

Access Statistics for this chapter

More chapters in Springer Books from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().