Expert opinions and negative externalities do not decrease support for anti-price gouging policies

Bibliographic Data

ID13016867
AuthorsCasey Klofstad (0000-0002-0223-2230, University of Miami), Joseph E Uscinski (0000-0003-2179-6952, University of Miami, corresponding author)
Year2023
Volume10
Issue3
Publication date2023-07-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueResearch & Politics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2053-1680 • E-ISSN: 2053-1680
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/20531680231194805
OpenAlexW4386891275
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited25

During disasters, citizens call for “anti-price gouging” policies. However, majorities of economists oppose such policies. For democracy to function, citizens should be responsive to policy-relevant information—especially from experts. What impact does exposure to the potential negative externalities have on public support for anti-price gouging policies? We hypothesize that if the public were exposed to such information, they would be less supportive of anti-gouging policies. We employ two survey experiments: one administered in Florida ( n = 2085), a state prone to hurricane activity, and the second in the United States ( n = 2023) at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Both show that the public overwhelmingly supports anti-price gouging policies, regardless of exposure to information about negative externalities, even when it comes from experts

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19 · Economics · Externality · Function (biology · Microeconomics · Political science · Politics · Public economics · Public opinion · Public policy · Public support · State (computer science · Computer Science · COVID-19 Pandemic Impacts · Law · Media Influence and Politics · Medicine · Misinformation and Its Impacts

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