Michael Giberson Cale Davis, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Applied Economics at Montana State University, produced a thesis examining why some states do and others don’t have anti-price gouging laws. The abstract of “An Analysis of the Enactment of Anti-Price Gouging Laws“: Anti-price gouging (APG) laws …
Why Have 31 States Passed Anti-price Gouging Laws (and 19 Not)? 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 The post title was extracted from the conclusion of Henry Neilson’s article, “Price gouging versus price reduction in retail gasoline markets during Hurricane Rita” (Economic Letters, October 2009), but I’m not sure the evidence supports the conclusion of altruism. Neilson collected gasoline price data in the Byran-College Station, Texas, area for several weeks …
“Gas Station Owners Were Surprisingly Altruistic During That Time of Crisis” Read More »
Michael Giberson Yesterday I commented on Michael Sandel’s book, Justice, and on his discussion of price gouging. I hoped that Sandel would go deeper into his ideas about justice and price gouging, but the book’s index suggests that the introductory chapter is all he has to offer specifically on price gouging. In re-reading parts of …
More on Michael Sandel, Justice and Price Gouging Read More »
Michael Giberson Michael Sandel appeared on the Today show last week promoting his new book, Justice: what is the right thing to do? The book and a related public television series this fall are based on Sandel’s course on justice taught at Harvard. (The television series episodes are online at the link just cited.) The …
Michael Giberson At Overcoming Bias, Robin Hanson points out that the human instinct for cooperation has good and bad consequences. A handful of recent articles in reaction to Frans de Waal’s new book, The Age of Empathy, and other writing on cooperation have treated it as a good thing, as a helpful counterweight to human …
Price Gouging and the “Dark Side of Cooperation” Read More »
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 First, the news: Washington Township, N.J., gas station ordered temporarily closed for price gouging A judge on Monday [July 13] ordered the temporary closing of a Washington Township, N.J., gas station after the owners pleaded guilty to price gouging. Express Fuel on Route 31 North, south of Washington, will reopen on Monday. The …
Punishing Gasoline Customers for Non-Existent ‘Price Gouging’ by New Jersy Station 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 »
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