A quantitative allocation. This may be set as a minimum or a maximum. A quota for jobs for disadvantaged groups, or for compulsory deliveries by former planned economy farmers to state marketing organizations, would be a minimum. A limit on imports of cars, or the quantity of milk sold under the Common Agricultural Policy, would be a maximum. In each case it can be argued that any objective achieved by a quota system could be achieved at lower cost by use of the price mechanism, through an appropriate tax or subsidy. The use of quotas tends to inhibit competition, directly if quotas are allocated to individual producers, and indirectly if they are fixed en bloc, as this encourages the formation of organizations to share out the market.

The maximum level of international oil sales allocated to each member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) at its periodic meetings. There is an incentive for each OPEC member to exceed its quota, as the resulting increase in revenue accrues to the individual member, while any resulting decrease in world oil prices affects all producers.

The share of each member of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its total funds. The quota allocated to each IMF member determines its voting power, the amount of gold or international currency and of its own currency that it initially subscribes, and its access to various borrowing facilities. A large quota is attractive to any IMF member in terms of prestige and borrowing power: the price of this is a large initial subscription and large liability to extend credit to countries that need to borrow. National quotas are periodically revised.