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What's the Matter with Price Gouging?

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  • Snyder, Jeremy

Abstract

When prices for basic commodities increase following a disaster, these price increases are often condemned as 'price gouging.’ In this paper, I discuss what moral wrongs, if any, are most reasonably ascribed to accusations of price gouging. This discussion keeps in mind both practical and moral defenses of price increase following disasters. I first examine existing anti-gouging legislation for commonalities in their definitions of gouging and then present arguments in favor of the permissibility of gouging, focusing on the economic benefits of price increases following disasters. I argue that gouging takes the form of a specific failure of respect for persons by undercutting equitable access to essential goods. While I discuss anti-gouging legislation throughout this paper, my aim is to give an account of the moral wrongs associated with gouging rather than guidance for developing morally defensible anti-gouging legislation.

Suggested Citation

  • Snyder, Jeremy, 2009. "What's the Matter with Price Gouging?," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 19(2), pages 275-293, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:buetqu:v:19:y:2009:i:02:p:275-293_00
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    Cited by:

    1. Luís Cabral & Lei Xu, 2021. "Seller reputation and price gouging: Evidence from the COVID‐19 pandemic," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 59(3), pages 867-879, July.
    2. Tae Wan Kim, 2018. "Gamification of Labor and the Charge of Exploitation," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 152(1), pages 27-39, September.
    3. 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.
    4. Jing Xu & Alan T. Murray, 2019. "Spatial variability in retail gasoline markets," Asia-Pacific Journal of Regional Science, Springer, vol. 3(2), pages 581-603, June.
    5. 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).
    6. 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.
    7. András Miklós, 2019. "Exploiting Injustice in Mutually Beneficial Market Exchange: The Case of Sweatshop Labor," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 156(1), pages 59-69, April.

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