Michael Giberson A new blog explores the world of Bleeding Heart Libertarians. Matt Zwolinski created the blog as “a forum for academic philosophers who are attracted both to libertarianism and to ideals of social or distributive justice.” He has attracted a top-notch group of collaborators, and the first two weeks of operation has produced a …
Michael Giberson Last I checked, James Kwak had 147 comments on his blog post on price gouging and the corrupting influence of Econ 101. Other bloggers have jumped into the fray: Adam Ozimek at Modeled Behavior, the Undergraduate at Observations of a Naive Undergraduate, and David Beckworth at Macro and Other Market Musings. Quite a …
Price Gouging, Ethics, Markets, and the Corrupting Influence of Econ 101 Read More »
Michael Giberson Over two years ago, the state of Kentucky filed suit against Marathon Oil claiming the company engaged in price gouging in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. (Cynics noted that the lawsuit was filed shortly before a primary election in which the Attorney General at the time was running for Lt. Governor.) …
Michael Giberson From Columbia, South Carolina’s The State newspaper, more evidence of the predictable effects of anti-price gouging laws: A day after drivers began a panic-buying run on gas, S.C. Attorney General Henry McMaster invoked the state’s price-gouging law with fines up to $1,000 per offense and up to 30 days in jail. Hotlines were …
Retail Gasoline Stations Shutting Down to Avoid Price Gouging Complaints Read More »
Michael Giberson In June, the South Carolina’s Office of the Attorney General issued a report on post-Hurricane Ike price gouging. The brief report is worth a look if you have an interest in price gouging laws. Over 4,300 price gouging complaints were received by the SC attorney general’s office in the post-Hurricane Ike period. Lots …
Gasoline Price Gouging After Hurricane Ike in South Carolina Read More »
Michael Giberson West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin released a statement last Thursday indicating his disappointment with Marathon Oil’s decision to temporarily halt sales to independent gasoline retailers in a part of the state affected by flooding and a May 9 declaration of emergency. The May 9 emergency declaration triggered the state’s price gouging law, and …
Predictable Consequences of Anti-price Gouging Laws Read More »
Michael Giberson The April 2009 Business Ethics Quarterly includes an article on price gouging by Jeremy Snyder, a response from Matt Zwolinski, whose article on the topic was published a year ago, and a reply from Snyder. (Zwolinski’s earlier article on price gouging was discussed here last March. See related links below.) Snyder (“What’s the …
Price Gouging: Is It Wrong? Should It Be Against the Law? Read More »
Michael Giberson Julio J. Rotemberg has a paper out about emotional reactions to prices and their policy implications. (“Behavioral aspects of price setting, and their policy implications.”) I think he is working on some interesting issues, but he comes up with such lousy “policy implications” at the end of the article that it ruined it …
Price Gouging Laws: Emotions, Economics, and Policy Read More »
Michael Giberson Usually, with annual Spring price increases, we hear the perennial allegations of gasoline price gouging from politicians. Despite all the talk about high gasoline prices, there hasn’t been a lot of talk about price gouging this year. The precise meaning of the term “price gouging” is sometimes hard to pin down, but a …
Price Gouging: At the Intersection of Emotions, Ethics, and Economics Read More »
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