Price gouging

Extracted Attributes

• Definition

  Significantly increasing the prices of goods, services, or commodities beyond what is considered reasonable or fair.

• Common Context

  Occurs after demand or supply shocks, particularly for basic necessities following natural disasters.

• Related Concepts

  Profits from practices inconsistent with a competitive free market, windfall profits, or those of a coercive monopoly deliberately limiting production.

• Legal Status (US)

  A specific crime in some U.S. jurisdictions during civil emergencies.

• Economic Perspectives

  Viewed by some as exploitative and unethical, by others as a natural outcome of supply and demand.

• Associated Economic Terms

  Greedflation, seller's inflation.

• Legal Status (International)

  Legislation exists internationally under competition laws with similar regulatory purpose.

• Distinction from Profiteering

  Short-term, localized, and restricted to essentials (food, clothing, shelter, medicine, equipment needed to preserve life and property).

Timeline

• Price gouging became highly prevalent in news media in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to state price gouging regulations going into effect due to the national emergency. Public discourse increased, associated with shortages. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2020-03-11

• The idea of 'greedflation' or 'seller's inflation' moved out of the progressive economics fringe to be embraced by some mainstream economists, policymakers, and business press, partly blaming price gouging for post-pandemic inflation. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2023-XX-XX

Price gouging

Price gouging is a pejorative term for the practice of increasing the prices of goods, services, or commodities to a level much higher than is considered reasonable or fair by some. This commonly applies to price increases of basic necessities after natural disasters. Usually, this event occurs after a demand or supply shock. The term can also be used to refer to profits obtained by practices inconsistent with a competitive free market, or to windfall profits. In some jurisdictions of the United States during civil emergencies, price gouging is a specific crime. Price gouging is considered by some to be exploitative and unethical and by others to be a simple result of supply and demand. Price gouging is similar to profiteering but can be distinguished by being short-term and localized and by being restricted to essentials such as food, clothing, shelter, medicine, and equipment needed to preserve life and property. In jurisdictions where there is no such crime, the term may still be used to pressure firms to refrain from such behavior. The term is used directly in laws and regulations in the United States and Canada, but legislation exists internationally with similar regulatory purpose under existing competition laws. It is sometimes used to refer to practices of a coercive monopoly that prices above the market rate by deliberately curtailing production. Alternatively, it may refer to suppliers' benefiting to excess from a short-term change in the demand curve. Price gouging became highly prevalent in news media in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, when state price gouging regulations went into effect due to the national emergency. The rise in public discourse was associated with increased shortages related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The resulting inflation after the pandemic has also been blamed, at least in part, by some on price gouging. During the pandemic, the idea of "greedflation" or "seller's inflation" also moved out of the progressive economics fringe by 2023 to be embraced by some mainstream economists, policymakers and business press.

Web Search Results

• Price gouging - Wikipedia

  Price gouging is a pejorative term for the practice of increasing the prices of goods "Good (economics)"), services "Service (economics)"), or commodities to a level much higher than is considered reasonable or fair by some. This commonly applies to price increases of basic necessities after natural disasters. Usually, this event occurs after a demand or supply shock. The term can also be used to refer to profits obtained by practices inconsistent with a competitive free market, or to windfall [...] profits. In some jurisdictions of the United States during civil emergencies, price gouging is a specific crime. Price gouging is considered by some to be exploitative and unethical and by others to be a simple result of supply and demand. [...] Price gouging is similar to profiteering "Profiteering (business)") but can be distinguished by being short-term and localized and by being restricted to essentials such as food, clothing, shelter, medicine, and equipment needed to preserve life and property. In jurisdictions where there is no such crime, the term may still be used to pressure firms to refrain from such behavior. The term is used directly in laws and regulations in the United States and Canada, but legislation exists

• Understanding Price Gouging: Definition, Real-Life Examples

  Price gouging is a term that evokes strong emotions, often conjuring images of predatory businesses exploiting consumers during their most vulnerable moments. Typically, price gouging refers to the practice of sharply increasing prices on essential goods and services during emergencies, such as natural disasters or crises. This practice is generally considered unethical and is illegal in many jurisdictions, especially when it involves basic necessities like food, water, medical supplies, and [...] At its core, price gouging occurs when a seller significantly raises the prices of goods or services to a level much higher than what is considered reasonable or fair, typically during a time of crisis. Most definitions of price gouging revolve around the idea of “unconscionable” price increases—those that exploit consumers’ urgent needs. Laws regulating price gouging vary by jurisdiction, but they generally come into effect during declared states of emergency and focus on essential goods. [...] Price gouging is a significant concern in specific contexts, particularly during emergencies when essential goods and services are scarce. Real-life examples, such as the sharp price increases for necessities during natural disasters or the surge in utility bills during crises, demonstrate the potential for exploitation. However, when it comes to grocery stores, the situation is more complicated. While prices have risen, these increases are often the result of broader economic pressures rather

• PRICE GOUGING Definition & Meaning - Dictionary.com

  Advertisement Skip to price gouging Advertisement # price gouging [prahys gou-jing] ## noun an act or instance of charging customers too high a price for goods or services, especially when demand is high and supplies are limited. The law prohibits price gouging during weather emergencies such as snowstorms. ## Other Word Forms ## Word History and Origins Origin of price gouging1 ## Example Sentences

• Price gouging - definition and examples - Economics Help

  Economics Help Economics Help # Price gouging – definition and examples Price gouging is a situation where business take advantage of an external crisis to charge excessive prices for basic necessities – selling the goods significantly above their usual price. Many countries have laws against the practise of price gouging – to protect consumers against unfairly high prices during a national emergency. ### Example of price gouging [...] A recent example of price gouging is individuals who have been stock-piling hand-sanitiser and face masks to sell for inflated prices during the Coronavirus. For example, two brothers in the US bought nearly 18,000 bottles of hand sanitizer at around $1 from stores in Tennessee and Kentucky and were seeking to resell for between $7 and $70. Matt Collin who stockpiled the hand-sanitiser said: “I saw a demand, that’s what I have to say about that,”

• In Praise of Price Gouging | Chicago Booth Review

  Price gouging is fundamentally different from monopoly pricing, collusion, or price-fixing. Price gouging happens in perfectly competitive markets. There suddenly isn’t enough of something to go around, either from a surge in demand or a contraction in supply. Prices rise sharply above what people are used to paying. Those who have inventories, bought when prices were lower, can turn around and make a temporary profit. ## Market magic [...] How could I possibly say that? And what is price gouging, anyway? The classic case of “price gouging” happens in an emergency such as a natural disaster. A hurricane is coming, so people run down to hardware stores and clean out the 4 ft. x 8 ft. plywood to board up their windows. The stores raise their prices. People who have extra plywood sell it at high prices to those who don’t. After the storm, gas trucks can’t get in for a few days, and gas stations raise prices to $10 per gallon. [...] Price gouging directs scarce resources to the people who really need them. It encourages bringing new supply in, holding stockpiles for a rainy day, efficiently using the stockpiles we have sitting around, and substituting for less-scarce goods when we can.

Price gouging is a pejorative term used to describe the situation when a seller increases the prices of goods, services, or commodities to a level much higher than is considered reasonable or fair. Usually, this event occurs after a demand or supply shock. This term is commonly used to describe price increases of basic necessities after natural disasters. In legal usage, price gouging is the name of a crime that applies in some jurisdictions of the United States during civil emergencies. In less precise usage, the term can also be used to refer to profits obtained by practices inconsistent with a competitive free market, or to windfall profits. Price gouging is considered by some to be exploitative and unethical. The term is similar to profiteering but can be distinguished by being short-term and localized and by being restricted to essentials such as food, clothing, shelter, medicine, and equipment needed to preserve life and property. In jurisdictions where there is no such crime, the term may still be used to pressure firms to refrain from such behavior. The term is used directly in laws and regulations in the United States and Canada, but legislation exists internationally with similar regulatory purpose under existing competition laws. The term is not in widespread use in mainstream economic theory, but it is sometimes used to refer to practices of a coercive monopoly that raises prices above the market rate that would otherwise prevail in a competitive environment. Alternatively, it may refer to suppliers' benefiting to excess from a short-term change in the demand curve. Price gouging became highly prevalent in news media in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, when state price gouging regulations went into effect due to the national emergency. The rise in public discourse was associated with increased shortages related to the COVID-19 pandemic.