The new law targeting supermarket prices will be tough to apply. But it does put the big supermarkets on notice that their pricing practices are being watched.
Articles on Price gouging
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I recently underwent an urgent surgery to have a cancerous growth removed – but this wasn’t enough of a reason for me to get a refund to a music festival.
The ban marks a departure from Australia’s traditional approach of preserving competitive processes rather than regulating prices directly.
Local food networks have an important role to play in the promised national food security strategy, which must resist the influence of corporate interests
It may be tempting to view hospital parking fees as exploiting a captive market. But the reality is much more complex.
A Coalition government would tackle surging insurance premiums by breaking up monopolies to make the industry more competitive.
Despite interest rates coming down, New Zealand’s economy is being pushed further into recession by government austerity measures. Basic macro-economic analysis shows why.
Here’s some food for thought: Groceries are actually pretty cheap in the US, comparatively speaking.
The government says changes to the unit pricing code will help ensure shoppers are not the victims of inflation by stealth when buying everyday products.
Woolworths and Coles face potentially massive fines if they are found guilty of misleading shoppers over the price of hundreds of products.
The Nationals have had a major win in having the opposition commit give the ACCC divestiture powers.
We really are being charged more than we used to be. If the government is concerned about price gouging, it could try this bold idea: offering its own low-cost bank loans.
Woolworths promoted itself as a place where “goods are so cheap and shopping easy and pleasant” when it opened 100 years ago. Australia’s biggest grocer has moved away from its humble beginnings.
Each of these tricks is old, but each has been supercharged by the use of information technology.
Australians are being overcharged by supermarkets, power, transport and other service providers, according to a report which has called for government action to protect consumers.
The COVID pandemic, climate events and international conflicts have all contributed, while supermarket giants have been accused of price gouging.
Why wait until a Senate inquiry to explain how supermarkets come up with the prices in their stores? There’s an opportunity now for the big supermarkets to be more transparent on pricing.
Some economists have defended price gouging, saying it helps increase supply and prevent against hoarding. An ethicist suggests this might be missing the point.
Some Texans are receiving eye-popping electric bills after power providers passed on volatile costs to some of their customers – legally.
Top contributors
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Associate Professor in Operations and Supply Chain Management, UTS Business School, University of Technology Sydney
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Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra
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Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University
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Associate Professor in Law, UTS Faculty of Law, University of Technology Sydney
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Co-Director, Global Centre for Preventive Health and Nutrition, Deakin University
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Vice-Chancellor's Senior Research Fellow in Music Industries and Cultural Economy, RMIT University
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Professor of Philosophy
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Lecturer, School of the Arts and Media, UNSW
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Adjunct Senior Lecturer, Applied Ethics and CyberSecurity, Griffith University
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Professor of Law (consumer protections and credit law), The University of Melbourne
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Professor of History and Director of the Global Research Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
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Visiting Scholar, School of History, Philosophy, Political Science and International Relations, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
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Professor Allan Fels, Professor of Law, Economics and Business at the University of Melbourne and Monash University., The University of Melbourne
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Professor of Economics (Health Economist), RMIT University
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Associate Professor in Economics, RMIT University