Who’s to blame for high egg prices? Ask the economists.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Americans are experiencing serious sticker shock when it comes to the price of eggs, which in some markets has more than tripled. That is, when they can get eggs at all.

Empty shelves and store-imposed purchase limits have also left shoppers frustrated and looking for someone to blame. Politicians such as Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.) have called for investigations into price gouging, while Commissioner Alvaro Bedoya of the Federal Trade Commission has urged a probe into “anticompetitive conduct" in the egg industry.

On Friday, The Wall Street Journal reported that the Justice Department had opened an investigation into rising egg prices. Companies do sometimes abuse their market power. But the fundamental economic forces of supply and demand—concepts taught in every introductory economics class—often provide a more complete explanation for price spikes.

The egg market has experienced a genuine supply catastrophe. A devastating avian flu outbreak has eliminated roughly 15% of America’s egg-laying hens in recent months, with 166 million chickens culled to prevent further spread of the disease. This represents a massive supply shock in a market whose particular characteristics make it especially vulnerable to price volatility.

Two key economic properties—inelastic supply and inelastic demand—make the market for eggs particularly susceptible to dramatic price swings. The supply of eggs is essentially fixed in the short run. Producers can’t quickly increase production when prices rise.