Nikola Njegovan, Bojan Ristić
10.51204/Anali_PFBU_22201A
Unlike other natural disasters, the coronavirus disease pandemic is global in character, which is why interest among researchers in the price gouging phenomenon is on the rise. Without disputing many solid arguments favouring the market mechanism, we will reconsider the goals and means of potential government intervention. One possibility lies in economic regulation, the other in competition law. In the first case, price ceilings are usually imposed for necessary goods, followed by rationing and export restrictions. On the other hand, competition policy focuses on preventing the exercise of temporary market power. We will try to show that market failures can provide specific arguments for regulation but relying on competition protection policy seems unjustified. Still, since the critical issue is defining excessive prices in the short run, we expect competition authorities to address this issue, considering that they are permanently monitoring various markets.
- Andrejko, Kristin L., Jake M. Pry, Jennifer F. Myers, Nozomi Fukui, Jennifer L. DeGuzman, John Openshaw, James P. Watt, Joseph A. Lewnard, Seema Jain. 2022. Effectiveness of Face Mask or Respirator Use in Indoor Public Settings for Prevention of SARS-CoV-2 Infection—California, February–December 2021. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). (CDC) 71: 212–216. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7106e1
- Awaya, Yu, Vijay Krishna. 2021. Panics and Prices. SSRN Working Papers. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3821646
- Bishop, Simon, Mike Walker. 2002. The Economics of EC Competition Law: Concepts, Application and Measurement. London: Sweet & Maxwell. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3593292
- Boshoff, Willem H. 2020. South African Competition Policy on Excessive Pricing and Its Relation to Price Gouging During the COVID-19 Disaster Period. South African Journal of Economics: 1–29.
- Cabral, Luís, Lei Xu. 3/2021. Seller reputation and price gouging: Evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic. Economic Inquiry 59: 867–879. https://doi.org/10.1111/ecin.12993
- Cary, George S., Maurits J. F. M. Dolmans, Bruce Hoffman, Thomas Graf, Leah Brannon, Richard Pepper, Henry Mostyn, Alexis R. B. Lazda, Kristi Georgieva, Jan Przerwa. 2020. Exploitative abuses, price gouging & COVID-19: The cases pursued by EU and national competition authorities. e-Competitions: Competition Law & COVID-19.
- Chua, Grace, Kum Fai Yuen, Xueqin Wang, Yiik Diew Wong. 6/2021. The Determinants of Panic Buying During COVID-19. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 18: 1–28. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18063247
- Department of Justice. 2020. Justice Department Cautions Business Community Against Violating Antitrust Laws in the Manufacturing, Distribution, and Sale of Public Health Products. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-cautions-business-community-against-violating-antitrust-laws-manufacturing/ (last visited 22 May, 2022).
- Diamond, Douglas W., Philip H. Dybvig. 3/1983. Bank Runs, Deposit Insurance, and Liquidity. Journal of Political Economy 91: 401–19. https://doi.org/10.1086/261155
- Evans, David S., Jorge Padilla. 1/2005. Excessive Prices: Using Economics to Define Administrable Legal Rules. Journal of Competition Law & Economics 1: 97–122. https://doi.org/10.1093/joclec/nhi002
- Ezrachi, Ariel, David Gilo. 2/2009. Are Excessive Prices Really Self-Correcting? Journal of Competition Law & Economics 5: 249–268. https://doi.org/10.1093/joclec/nhn033
- Fung, San Sau, Simon Roberts. 2021. The Economics of Potential Price Gouging during Covid-19 and the Application to Complaints Received by the CMA. CCP Working Paper 21-02, Centre for Competition Policy (CCP), University of East Anglia, 1–32.
- Galbraith, John Kenneth. 1980. A Theory of Price Control. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. https://doi.org/10.4159/harvard.9780674333048
- Gilo, David, Yossi Spiegel. 2018. The Antitrust Prohibition of Excessive Pricing. International Journal of Industrial Organization 61: 503–541. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijindorg.2018.05.003
- Initiative on Global Markets. 2012. Price Gouging. https://www.igmchicago.org/surveys/price-gouging/ (last visited 25 May, 2022).
- Keane, Michael, Timothy Neal. 1/2021. Consumer panic in the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Econometrics 220: 86–105. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeconom.2020.07.045
- Motta, Massimo. 2004. Competition Policy: Theory and Practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511804038
- Motta, Massimo, Alexandre De Streel. 2007. Excessive Pricing in Competition Law: Never say Never? 14–46 in The Pros and Cons of High Prices, edited by Niklas Strand, Arvid Fredenberg. Kalmar: Konkurrensverket, Swedish Competition Authority.
- Njegovan, Nikola, Ristić Bojan, Trifunović Dejan. 2021. Ekonomska analiza naglog porasta cena u vanrednim okolnostima. 59–66 in Ekonomska politika u Srbiji i svetu u 2021. – u susret globalnim šokovima i rastućoj neizvesnosti, edited by Miodrag Zec, Milojko Arsić, Ognjen Radonjić. Beograd: Ekonomski fakultet u Beogradu.
- Noda, Shunya, Kazuhiro Teramoto. 2020. A Dynamic Model of Rational ‘Panic Buying’. SSRN Working papers. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3721706
- OECD. 2020a. The face mask global value chain in the COVID-19 outbreak: Evidence and policy lessons. https://read.oecd-ilibrary.org/view/?ref=132_132616-l4i0j8ci1q&title=The-Face-Mask-Global-Value-Chain-in-the-COVID-19-Outbreak-Evidence-and-Policy-Lessons (last visited 24 March, 2022).
- OECD. 2020b. Exploitative pricing in the time of COVID-19. https://www.oecd.org/competition/Exploitative-pricing-in-the-time-of-COVID-19.pdf (last visited 24 March, 2022).
- Porter, Michael E. 2/1979. How Competitive Forces Shape Strategy. Harvard Business Review 57: 137–145.
- Prentice, Catherine, Jinyan Chen, Bela Stantic. 2020. Timed intervention in COVID-19 and panic buying. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 57: 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2020.102203
- Rakić, Ivana. 2/2020. Competition Law in the Age of COVID-19. Anali Pravnog fakulteta u Beogradu 68: 25–61. https://doi.org/10.5937/AnaliPFB2002025R
- Rubinstein, Ariel. 1989. The Electronic Mail Game: Strategic Behavior under Almost Common Knowledge. American Economic Review 79: 385–391.
- Snyder, Jeremy. 2/2009a. Efficiency, Equity, and Price Gouging: A Response to Zwolinski. Business Ethics Quarterly 19: 303–306. https://doi.org/10.5840/beq200919216
- Snyder, Jeremy. 2/2009b. What’s the Matter with Price Gouging? Business Ethics Quarterly 19: 275–93. https://doi.org/10.5840/beq200919214
- Tanisali, Gokhan, Ahmet Sozak, Abdul Samet Bulut, Tolga Ziya Sander, Ozlem Dogan, Çağdaş Dağ, Mehmet Gönen, Fusun Can, Hasan DeMirci, Onder Ergonul. 2021. Effectiveness of different types of mask in aerosol dispersion in SARS-CoV-2 infection. International Journal of Infectious Diseases 109: 310–314. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijid.2021.06.029
- Taylor, Steven. 2021. Understanding and managing pandemic-related panic buying. Journal of Anxiety Disorders 78: 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2021.102364
- Vlaović, G. 2020. Maska skoro deset puta skuplja iako je vanredno stanje. Danas, 17. mart. https://www.danas.rs/vesti/ekonomija/maska-skoro-deset-puta-skuplja-iako-je-vanredno-stanje/ (last visited 10 March, 2022).
- Yuen, Kum Fai, Xueqin Wang, Fei Ma, Kevin X. Li. 6/2020. The Psychological Causes of Panic Buying Following a Health Crisis. International journal of environmental research and public health 18: 1–14.
- Zwolinski, Matt. 3/2008. The Ethics of Price Gouging. Business Ethics Quarterly 18: 347–378. https://doi.org/10.5840/beq200818327
- Zwolinski, Matt. 2/2009. Dialogue on Price Gouging: Price Gouging, Non-Worseness, and Distributive Justice. Business Ethics Quarterly 19: 295–303. https://doi.org/10.5840/beq200919215
- Zwolinski, Matt. 2010. Price Gouging and Market Failure. New Essays on Philosophy, Politics & Economic: Integration and Common Research Projects, edited by Gerald Gaus, Julian Lamont, Christi Favor. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
Zatvoreno za komentare