If an effective ceiling price is placed on hamburgers, the effects can be beneficial or detrimental depending on the type of ceiling price placed. For example, IHOP famously changed its acronym to IHOB in order to signify the introduction of hamburgers to its menu. The resulting marketing stunt caused a major surge in orders for burgers, and the restaurant reported that it sold four times as many burgers after the name change than it did before. By implementing a ceiling price on their burgers, IHOP increased the affordability and accessibility of its burgers to customers.
On the other hand, price ceilings can limit the supply of the product, resulting in a scarcity of burgers. As evidenced by a TIME article on the Blackhawk Restaurant in Chicago, horse meat was sold at a ceiling price of 14¢, while the ceiling price for ground beef was 59¢. This discrepancy in price caused a shortage of ground beef relative to horse meat, highlighting the potential for a ceiling price to cause a shortage.
In conclusion, the effects of a ceiling price on hamburgers can be either beneficial or detrimental depending on the type of ceiling price placed. If the ceiling price is set too low, it can decrease the supply and lead to a shortage in burgers available for purchase. However, if the ceiling price is set properly, it can increase the affordability and accessibility of the product, leading to more customers purchasing burgers.