Exploring Price Controls vs. Price Gouging Legislation

When presidential candidate Kamala Harris proposed legislation to ban price gouging, we naturally thought to interview Isabella Weber, an associate professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Weber’s paper on the subject lit up economic discussion in the wake of gas and food market disruptions caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Weber calls for governments to examine capping prices on certain staples, and amassing supplies to even out pricing. But is this prudent oversight of the markets, or a step down the road to central planning and scarcity?

Soumaya Keynes writes a column each week for the Financial Times. You can find it here

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