Feigned Scarcity

Feigned scarcity is an economics term for the creation of a false scarcity of some vital commodity as a means of maintaining or raising the price for that commodity. Governments use this method, through stockpiling or rationing, of vital commodities such as wheat, oil, etc. as a means of controlling the economy. This occurred during the Great Depression when the government would buy up excess crops and destroy them to hold up the price structure.