Are N95 masks essential goods covered by state price gouging laws?
Knowledge Problem
by Michael Giberson
4y ago
Should state laws prohibiting price gouging on essential goods and services apply to individual consumer purchases of N95 masks? The New York state law prohibits unconscionably excessive prices for “consumer goods and services vital and necessary for the health, safety and welfare of consumers.” My question arises because the CDC does not recommend that the general public wear N95 respirators to protect themselves from respiratory diseases, including coronavirus (COVID-19). On the theory that the CDC would not discourage consumers from using a good “vital and necessary for the health … of cons ..read more
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Consumer Complaints in Massachusetts fell in the first quarter of 2020
Knowledge Problem
by Michael Giberson
4y ago
Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey has been active fighting against price gouging during the pandemic emergency. Actually, she was on the case even before the governor issued a stay-at-home order on March 23, 2020. Three days prior to that AG Healey added anti-price gouging regulations to the state regulatory code under emergency powers. She has also issued news releases notifying online marketplaces like Amazon that they were not exempt from the law (see individual letters to online marketplaces here). There has been the usual relaying of stern warnings by media, and price gouging co ..read more
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Against anti-anti-anti-price gouging
Knowledge Problem
by Michael Giberson
4y ago
First let’s unpack the “against anti-anti-anti-price gouging” title to get oriented: Price gouging – a common name for price increases of goods in demand due to an emergency Anti-price gouging – common attitudes toward price gouging sometimes made into laws Anti-anti-price gouging – standard economics defenses of price gouging and opposition to such laws Anti-anti-anti-price gouging – direct challenges to standard economists’ anti-anti-price gouging views Against anti-anti-anti-price gouging – An economist still waiting for an argument deeper than “icky” Pandemic-related price gouging and an ..read more
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Adam Smith and the Digital Economy: Connectedness and Gains From Trade
Knowledge Problem
by Lynne Kiesling
5y ago
How can an 18th-century Scottish philosopher and economist help us understand the digital economy and our modern, hyper-connected world? That’s a question I’m tackling in a series of three essays at libertarianism.org. Digital technologies have increased our connectedness in profound ways. In the first essay I examine how Smith’s ideas about specialization and exchange combine with Ronald Coase’s analyses of transaction costs to help us understand how much easier and more convenient commerce is today than it was in the pre-digital world. Although humans may have inherent propensities to truck ..read more
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Job change, and a blogging renaissance
Knowledge Problem
by Lynne Kiesling
5y ago
I’m pleased to announce that I have accepted a new position at Carnegie Mellon University, as Visiting Professor in the Department of Engineering and Public Policy, Co-Director of the Institute for Regulatory Law & Economics (IRLE), and Faculty Affiliate in the Wilton E. Scott Institute for Energy Innovation, starting July 1. Founded in 2004 at the Silicon Flatirons Program at the University of Colorado Law School, IRLE brings state regulatory commissioners and staff together for an annual seminar at the Aspen Institute to study and discuss the economics of closely-regulated network indu ..read more
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