Price Gouging or Market Forces? Fairness Perceptions of Price Hikes in the Pandemic

Arbeitspapier

We report the results of surveys we conducted in the US and Israel in 2020, a time when many prices increased following the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. To assess respondents’ perceptions of price increases, we focus on goods whose prices have increased during the pandemic, including some essential goods. Consistent with the principle of dual entitlement, we find that respondents perceive price increases as more acceptable if they are due to cost shocks than if they are due to demand shocks. However, we also find large differences across the two populations, as well as across goods.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Price Level; Inflation; Deflation ; Macro-Based Behavioral Economics: General‡ ; Micro-Based Behavioral Economics: General‡ ; Marketing
• Subject: Fairness Perceptions ; Price Increases ; The Pandemic ; Dual Entitlement ; Consumer Antagonism

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Snir. Avichai ; Levy, Daniel ; Levy, Dudi ; Chen, Haipeng Allan
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics
• (where): Kiel, Hamburg
• (when): 2024

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/285120
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:43 AM CET