A decrease in a PPC/PPF, or the shift , illustrates a decline in the potential amount of output for a society. This can occur as a result of devastation in a war, a natural disaster, or even when the price of a basic resource (such as oil) increases substantially.

Southeastern oklahoma state university's business program has the facilities and faculty to handle an enrollment of 2,000 new students per semester. however, in an effort to limit class sizes to a "reasonable" level (under 200 generally), southeastern's dean, holly lutze, placed a ceiling on enrollment of 1,600 new students. although there was ample demand for business courses last semester, conflicting schedules allowed only 1,440 new students to take business courses.the utilization rate for southeastern=%the efficiency rate for southeastern=%