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To consumers, price signals the opportunity cost of a purchase. Prices tell producers what consumers want.

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The choice of how much to spend may, in part, be based on what a person can afford, but it also reflects the consumer's expectation of what will be available at that price.

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In a market-based economy, prices function as an incentive because they represent potential for profit.

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Just as changing prices motivate producers, prices in the form of wages and salaries motivate workers.

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Prices allow markets to adjust quickly when major events such as wars and natural disasters interfere with the production or movement of goods, wreaking havoc on supply.

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Prices give markets the flexibility they need to reach equilibrium even under changing conditions.

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Perhaps the most important role of price in a market-based economy is to guide resources to their most efficient uses.

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Guided by prices that communicate what consumers want, dairy producers automatically allocate milk—a scarce resource used to make many different products—to its most valued use.