Michael Giberson At Fiscal Times, economist Mark Thoma discusses price gouging and fairness and capitalism. I hoped Thoma had provided the thoughtful defense of price gouging restrictions that John Carney was looking for. Thoma didn’t really–he had a weightier topic in mind and price gouging was just a lever he used to pry open the …
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 »
Lynne Kiesling Rob Bradley has an Econlib essay on Enron, and it’s a good one. He focuses on Enron’s particular form of crony corporatism, its ability to take advantage of regulatory complexity, and the lessons that we should carry forward from the experience: Enron was essentially a political company, not a free-market one. Ken Lay’s creation …
Michael Giberson As noted here at KP in August, a group of electric power economists (including me) filed an amicus brief on FERC’s demand response pricing rule. At the Master Resource blog, Travis Fisher examines the issue with some detail. Here is a bit: In Order No. 745, FERC reasoned that, “when a demand response …
‘Demand Response’ in Electricity: Economists Vs. FERC on (Over)Pricing Read More »
Lynne Kiesling This year’s Economic Freedom of the World report is released today, and the US has dropped to #18, its lowest ranking ever. From the press release: The United States, long considered a champion of economic freedom among large industrial nations, dropped to its lowest position ever in to the Fraser Institute’s annual Economic …
Michael Giberson On the NYTimes.com Green blog, Matthew Wald reports on “An argument over wind.” The issue is the scheduled-to-expire Production Tax Credit for wind power. As previously mentioned here, former PTC-supporter Exelon Corp. has come out against the PTC extension. It parted ways from the American Wind Energy Association, of which it had long …
Negative Power Prices Due to Wind Power’s Subsidy Read More »
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