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The Ethics of Price Gouging

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  • Zwolinski, Matt

Abstract

Price gouging occurs when, in the wake of an emergency, sellers of a certain necessary goods sharply raise their prices beyond the level needed to cover increased costs. Most people think that price gouging is immoral, and most states have laws rendering the practice a civil or criminal offense. The purpose of this paper is to explore some of the philosophic issues surrounding price gouging, and to argue that the common moral condemnation of it is largely mistaken. I will make this argument in three steps, by rebutting three widely held beliefs about the ethics of price gouging: 1) that laws prohibiting price gouging are morally justified, 2) that price gouging is morally impermissible behavior, even if it ought not be illegal, and 3) that price gouging reflects poorly on the moral character of those who engage in it, even if the act itself is not morally impermissible.

Suggested Citation

  • Zwolinski, Matt, 2008. "The Ethics of Price Gouging," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 18(3), pages 347-378, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:buetqu:v:18:y:2008:i:03:p:347-378_00
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    Cited by:

    1. Peter Seele & Claus Dierksmeier & Reto Hofstetter & Mario D. Schultz, 2021. "Mapping the Ethicality of Algorithmic Pricing: A Review of Dynamic and Personalized Pricing," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 170(4), pages 697-719, May.
    2. Juan Elegido, 2009. "The Just Price: Three Insights from the Salamanca School," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 90(1), pages 29-46, November.
    3. Leonid A. Krasnozhon & David Simpson & Walter E. Block, 2015. "Fair Trade: Its Real Impact On The Working Poor," Review of Social and Economic Issues, Romanian-American University, vol. 1(2), pages 5-28, march.
    4. Christopher Hansman & Harrison Hong & Áureo de Paula & Vishal Singh, 2020. "A Sticky-Price View of Hoarding," NBER Working Papers 27051, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Elias L Khalil & Nick Feltovich, 2018. "Moral licensing, instrumental apology and insincerity aversion: Taking Immanuel Kant to the lab," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(11), pages 1-24, November.
    6. Tae Wan Kim, 2018. "Gamification of Labor and the Charge of Exploitation," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 152(1), pages 27-39, September.
    7. Zuzana Brokesova & Cary Deck & Jana Peliova, 2022. "Pull-to-center is not just for newsvendors," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 17(2), pages 1-16, February.
    8. Rico Ihle & Ofir D. Rubin & Ziv Bar-Nahum & Roel Jongeneel, 2020. "Imperfect food markets in times of crisis: economic consequences of supply chain disruptions and fragmentation for local market power and urban vulnerability," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 12(4), pages 727-734, August.
    9. Thomas Donaldson, 2023. "Value creation and CSR," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 93(6), pages 1255-1275, August.
    10. Seung Hyun Lee & Jaeyong Lee, 2020. "Does price gouging happen in the lodging industry? Case of Hurricane Florence," Journal of Revenue and Pricing Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 19(3), pages 151-161, June.
    11. Juan Elegido, 2015. "The Just Price as the Price Obtainable in an Open Market," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 130(3), pages 557-572, September.
    12. Jerod Coker & Jean-Manuel Izaret, 2021. "Progressive Pricing: The Ethical Case for Price Personalization," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 173(2), pages 387-398, October.
    13. Benjamin Powell & Matt Zwolinski, 2012. "The Ethical and Economic Case Against Sweatshop Labor: A Critical Assessment," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 107(4), pages 449-472, June.
    14. Michael A. Clemens, 2018. "Testing for Repugnance in Economic Transactions: Evidence from Guest Work in the Gulf," The Journal of Legal Studies, University of Chicago Press, vol. 47(S1), pages 5-44.
    15. Gregorio Guitián & Alejo José G. Sison, 2023. "Offshore Outsourcing from a Catholic Social Teaching Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 185(3), pages 595-609, July.
    16. Travis Timmerman & Abe Zakhem, 2021. "Sweatshops and Free Action: The Stakes of the Actualism/Possibilism Debate for Business Ethics," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 171(4), pages 683-694, July.
    17. Rik Chakraborti & Gavin Roberts, 2023. "How price-gouging regulation undermined COVID-19 mitigation: county-level evidence of unintended consequences," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 196(1), pages 51-83, July.
    18. R. Chakraborti & G. Roberts, 2021. "Learning to Hoard: The Effects of Preexisting and Surprise Price-Gouging Regulation During the COVID-19 Pandemic," Journal of Consumer Policy, Springer, vol. 44(4), pages 507-529, December.
    19. Oladosu, Gbadebo, 2022. "Bubbles in US gasoline prices: Assessing the role of hurricanes and anti–price gouging laws," Journal of Commodity Markets, Elsevier, vol. 27(C).
    20. Ilan Noy & Shakked Noy, 2016. "The Ethical Content of the Economic Analysis of Disasters: Price Gouging and Post-Disaster Recovery," CESifo Working Paper Series 6253, CESifo.
    21. Virgil Henry Storr & Stefanie Haeffele-Balch & Laura E. Grube, 2015. "Community Revival in the Wake of Disaster," Perspectives from Social Economics, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-1-137-31489-5.
    22. Daniel Halliday, 2021. "On the (mis)classification of paid labor: When should gig workers have employee status?," Politics, Philosophy & Economics, , vol. 20(3), pages 229-250, August.
    23. Nunan, Daniel & Di Domenico, MariaLaura, 2022. "Value creation in an algorithmic world: Towards an ethics of dynamic pricing," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 451-460.

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