Michael Giberson An excerpt from a Thomas Sowell column on price gouging: Charges of “price gouging” usually arise when prices are significantly higher than what people have been used to…. This raises questions that go to the heart of economics: What are prices for? What role do they play in the economy? Prices are not …
Michael Giberson John Carney proposes declaration of free-trade zones for gasoline in shortage-afflicted areas. Prices could stay regulated elsewhere, but consumers and merchants would gain the option to trade at higher prices within the zones. Great idea, but there is zero chance that very visible politicians will want to be upstaged by an invisible hand, …
Michael Giberson Thirty-four states and the District of Columbia have anti-price gouging laws In the wake of “Superstorm Sandy” there has been a lot of writing on price gouging. Constantine von Hoffman, CBS Moneywatch, said in his column that only seven of 13 states struck by the storm had laws against price gouging, but he …
Michael Giberson Jeff Ely, Cheap Talk, blogged “Price Gouging“ Tyler Cowen, Marginal Revolution, responded with “Price gouging and the elasticity of supply“ David Henderson, EconLog, “Jeff Ely on Price Controls During Disasters“ Matt Zwolinski, Bleeding Heart Libertarians, “Price Gouging Roundup“ Sandeep Baliga, Cheap Talk, adds, “Why is there no price gouging in NYC?“ Baliga linked to …
Price Gouging: Can Economics Justify a Price Cap? Read More »
Michael Giberson News headline reflects the stark difference in pricing strategy between competing businesses and regulated monopolies: “Xcel: Slack demand signals need for rate hike.” The sub-headline reads, “The utility, which posted a profit increase, will ask Minnesota for approval to raise rates.” Profits are up? Must need to raise prices. Reading the article heightens the …
Power Demand Dropping? Must Be Time to Raise Prices! Read More »
Michael Giberson Some, not all, of you believe that fossil fuel energy gain massive and undeserved subsidies from the federal government, that such subsidies way outweigh subsidies for renewable energy, and that subsidies for fossil fuels undermine the market success of renewable energy. You may want to read Severin Borenstein’s post, “Are Fossil Fuel Subsidies …
Fossil Energy Subsidies and Renewable Energy Competitiveness Read More »
Michael Giberson At InsideClimate News Elizabeth Douglass has a long, sprawling article tying together projections of U.S. oil production growth sufficient to turn the U.S. into an oil exporting nation and the political opposition to the Keystone XL pipeline. But the link between resource optimism and infrastructure obstructionism is a bit of a non sequitur. …
So Much Oil That We Don’t Need Infrastructure to Develop It? Read More »
Michael Giberson From The Hill’s Energy & Environment Blog: A group of military veterans pressed congressional Republicans on Thursday to renew a tax credit for the wind industry that their party’s standard-bearer, Mitt Romney, has vowed to end. The veterans, who are all employed by the wind industry, secured meetings with staff for House Majority Leader …
“Please, Sirs, May I Have Some More … Subsidies for Wind Power?” Read More »
Michael Giberson The recent Economics Nobel announcement, which went to Lloyd Shapely and Alvin Roth for theoretical and practical innovations in matching processes, has prompted some misguided carping among market-oriented commentators. The Andrew Coulson post from Cato-at-Liberty (which Lynne quoted favorably yesterday) is one example. Robert Wenzel is another (calling it a prize for “work …
Michael Giberson A few weeks ago I posted “Are ‘outsiders’ more likely to be accused of price gouging?” Having noticed that all four persons arrested in Mississippi for price gouging after Hurricane Isaac had surnames indicating family origins in India, I wondered about the potential for discrimination in the application of price gouging laws. First, …
Are New Jersey ‘outsiders’ More Likely to Be Accused of Price Gouging? Read More »
Copyright © 2022 Knowledge Problem Archive