Allocating
Goods and
Services
Maggie Wade
Pauline Wilson
Goods and Services
 Goods
are items
that we can buy
and sale.
 Services are jobs
that workers do for
other people.
What is a consumer and
producer?
A
consumer is anyone who buys a good
or a service.
A
producer is anyone who makes or
grows a good or performs a service.
What is Scarcity?
 Scarcity
means that there are more
consumers than goods.

When goods are scarce, they need to be
allocated, or rationed, to make sure that
the people who really want them can get
them.
Ways to Allocate Goods and
Services

First come, first served

Goods and services are distributed to individuals
who buy them before the supply runs out (ex.
Black Friday sales and concert tickets).


Problem – it wastes time
Lottery

Goods and services are distributed to individuals
by chance (ex. drawing a name out of a hat).

Problem – it will not get the goods to the people
that really want them
Ways to Allocate Goods and
Services

Personal Characteristics



Goods and services are distributed based on
race, age, sex, hair color, school attended, etc.
Problem - it will not get the goods to the people
that really want them
Contests


People compete against each other at a
chance to win goods or services (ex. Essay
contest and cook-off).
Problems – time-consuming; goods are not
guaranteed to the people that really want
them
Ways to Allocate Goods and
Services
 Price

Goods and services are sold for a particular
amount of money. Prices are based on the
demand.
 Problem-
People who really want a good or
service may not be able to afford them
Activity


Work in groups of 4 or 5
Choose at least one of the five ways to
allocate goods and services to solve the
following problem.

The second grade at your school is taking one
bus to Walt Disney World for spring break. The
bus has 54 seats. Seventy students want to go
on the trip. What will be the best way to
determine which students go on the trip?
Can you describe 5 ways that
goods and services are
allocated?
References
http://www.rockingham.k12.va.us/resources/elementary/2history.htm#8sol
Alden, Lori. Allocating Goods and Services: A Primer. Online,
http://www.econoclass.com/allocation.html
http://pbskids.org/lions/stories/