Quotation of the Day…

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… is from page 169 of Ryan Bourne’s paper “Anti-Price-Gouging Laws Entrench Shortages,” which is Chapter 13 of The War on Prices: How Popular Misconceptions About Inflation, Prices, and Value Create Bad Policy (Ryan A. Bourne, ed. 2024):

With prices capped below market rates, consumers wouldn’t feel the same urgency to conserve bottled water and would overbuy to be on the safe side, quickly depleting stocks. From a seller’s perspective, fewer merchants would find it profitable to bring goods to market, including from out of state, while those holding stocks in cupboards or warehouses would be more likely to hoard supply in the hope of selling in the higher-priced black market. This situation would leave some customers unable to find water at any price.

DBx: Yes. There is no economically sound case for price controls. None.