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Your reply isn't helpful. It's not market equilibrium. It's a shortage, because they need access to a limited resource to achieve something, but that limited resource isn't there.

Google definition of shortage: "a state or situation in which something needed cannot be obtained in sufficient amounts." Huh, that's exactly what I said.

In this case, the resource is being consumed by higher paying consumers outside of the local market. The whole market isn't necessarily suffering a shortage, but there are absolutely local shortages within a global market. Everything is in equilibrium if you look at a large enough picture.




Look, if you want to talk economics and get taken seriously, you need to get your terminology straight.

It's not an economic shortage when you're in a store full of goods that you can't afford. It's a shortage when the shelves are empty.


The shelves are empty because all of the goods are elsewhere. We've already established that.

By your self-contradictory definition, the term "shortage" loses its meaning and ceases to exist. Because with enough money, you can always buy what you need.

If you need a few tons of platinum to do something and discover that (hypothetically) there isn't actually that much here on Earth, you could build spaceships to go mine it from the asteroids with enough money. Bam! No shortage.

In the absence of sufficient money to go mine the asteroids, though, there would be a shortage of platinum on Earth. Except, your definition doesn't allow for shortages, because someone just needs to come up with the money. Maybe no human can afford to access it, but it's out there in the universe somewhere, so there can't be a shortage, right? I don't think that's a useful definition.

It doesn't really matter if you take me seriously, though, so I'm not going to keep expending effort trying to convince you to change your mind when you're not willing to consider my ideas.


> The shelves are empty because all of the goods are elsewhere. We've already established that.

No we haven't. I can assure you, the "shelves" of developers that companies in Europe have access to are far from empty. It's a matter of price. Developers from all over the world would flock to Europe if the pay was outstanding.

Having said that, let's imagine the scenario where some country allows zero immigration, all its developers are employed and would not switch jobs at any price (which is the crucial part), then you'll have a shortage. I'm not aware that such a country exists.

> If you need a few tons of platinum to do something and discover that (hypothetically) there isn't actually that much here on Earth, you could build spaceships to go mine it from the asteroids with enough money. Bam! No shortage.

If there's nobody that can meet demand of the platinum at any price, then there indeed is a shortage. Platinum that is in the ground or in outer space is not part of the supply.

> It doesn't really matter if you take me seriously, though, so I'm not going to keep expending effort trying to convince you to change your mind when you're not willing to consider my ideas.

Nobody who has basic literacy in economics will take you seriously if you can't get your terminology straight. Seriously, just look it up. Your "ideas" are besides the point. Yes, I get it, there are companies that can't afford developers. That is not a shortage in the economic sense of the word.




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