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Price Gouging?
Many people are offended when sellers charge higher prices after a natural disaster or in the middle of a crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic. Should this be illegal? Is it immoral? Who gains and who loses when prices rise sharply and when they are held down by law or custom? This page presents a set of resources for understanding how prices affect our lives in a time of crisis.
“That magical role of prices in directing resources is the bread and butter of economics. But to the non-economist, high prices are just a form of gouging that ought to be stopped.”
Russ Roberts, Profits vs. Love (2003)
Novel
- The Price of EverythingThis is my novel that centers around a rise in prices after an earthquake in the Bay Area
Short Essays
- Outlawing Price Gouging Will Only Hurt AngelenosJanuary 14, 2025 · The Free Press
- Price Gouging Could Actually Fix Our Face Mask ShortageMay 4, 2020 · Medium
- Profits vs. LoveJune 6, 2003 · Foundation for Economic Education
- The Morality of Surge PricingSeptember 18, 2016 · Medium
- The Morality of Surge Pricing — IISeptember 30, 2016 · Medium
- In Defense of High Prices and ProfitsEssay
EconTalk Conversations
- Munger on Price GougingJanuary 8, 2007
- Michael Munger on Shortages, Prices, and CompetitionOctober 19, 2009
- Mike Munger on John Locke, Prices, and Hurricane SandyNovember 12, 2012
- Roberts on the Price of EverythingAugust 25, 2008
Videos
- It’s a Wonderful LoafMay 3, 2017
- The Search for the Weaver of DreamsAugust 6, 2012
For the Classroom
- Applications of Supply and DemandPrice ceilings and price floors
- How Markets Use KnowledgeHow prices put dispersed knowledge to work