Imagine that politicians have decided that fuel prices are excessive for U.S. drivers and have passed a law that grants the power to regulate retail fuel prices to the U.S. Department of Energy. • How might supply and demand for fuel be affected by fuel prices that are set by the Department of Energy instead of by a free market? • Will the amounts of fuel demanded by consumers be met by the quantities supplied by a regulated market? • Does a regulated market result in better economic efficiency in the production and consumption than a free market?