Usuari:Sajolida/proves3

Els controls de preus són restriccions governamentals sobre un preu de mercat. L'objectiu d'implementar aquests conrols prové del desig de mantenir l'assequibilitat dels béns, evitar l'escassetat, reduir la inflació or assegurar un ingrés mínim als proveïdors de certs béns. Hi ha dos tipus principals de control de preus, el preu màxim i el preu mínim.

Encara que els controls de preus són utilitzats pels governs, els economistes en general consideren que els controls no compleixen l'objectiu pel que s'implementen i s'haurien d'evitar.

L'emperador romà Dioclecià va promulgar l'Edicte sobre els preus màxims, el qual fixava els preus màxims de més de 1300 productes, a finals del segle III d.C. amb poc èxit. Durant la Revolució Francesa, la Law of the Maximum limitava el preu del menjar.

The National Board for Prices and Incomes was created by the government of Harold Wilson in 1965 in an attempt to solve the problem of inflation in the British economy by managing wages and prices. The Prices and Incomes Act 1966 c. 33 affected UK labour law, regarding wage levels and price policies. It allowed the government to begin a process to scrutinise rising levels of wages (then around 8% per year) by initiating reports and inquiries and ultimately giving orders for a standstill. The objective was to control inflation. It proved unpopular after the 1960s.

States have sometimes chosen to implement their own control policies. Califòrnia controls the prices of electricity within the state, which conservative economist Thomas Sowell blames for the occasional electricity shortages the state experiences. Sowell said in 2001, "Since the utility companies have been paying more for electricity than they were allowed to charge their customers, they were operating in the red and the financial markets are downgrading their bonds." California's price-setting board agreed to raise rates but not as much as the companies were paying on the wholesale market for their electricity. Economist Lawrence Makovich contended, "We've already seen in California that price caps on retail rates increased demand and made the shortage worse and price caps also forced the largest utility, Pacific Gas and Electric, into bankruptcy in four months." While some charged that electricity providers had in past years charged above-market rates, in 2002 the San Francisco Chronicle reported that before the blackouts, many energy providers left the state because they could make a greater profit in other Western states. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission stepped in and set price caps for each megawatt of power bought after lifting the caps to avoid rolling blackouts six months previously.

The state of Hawaii briefly introduced a cap on the wholesale price of gasoline (the Gas Cap Law) in an effort to fight "price gouging" in that state in 2005. Because it was widely seen as too soft and ineffective, it was repealed shortly thereafter.

Criticism

The primary criticism leveled against price controls is that by keeping prices artificially low, demand is increased to the point where supply can not keep up, leading to shortages in the price-controlled product. For example, Lactantius wrote that Diocletian "by various taxes he had made all things exceedingly expensive, attempted by a law to limit their prices. Then much blood [of merchants] was shed for trifles, men were afraid to offer anything for sale, and the scarcity became more excessive and grievous than ever. Until, in the end, the [price limit] law, after having proved destructive to many people, was from mere necessity abolished." As with Diocletian's Edict on Maximum Prices, shortages lead to black markets where prices for the same good exceed those of an uncontrolled market. Furthermore, once controls are removed, prices will immediately increase, which can temporarily shock the economic system.

A classic example of how price controls cause shortages was during the Arab oil embargo between October 19, 1973 and March 17, 1974. Long lines of cars and trucks quickly appeared at retail gas stations in the U.S. and some stations closed because of a shortage of fuel at the low price set by the U.S. Cost of Living Council. The fixed price was below what the market would otherwise bear and, as a result, the inventory disappeared. It made no difference whether prices were voluntarily or involuntarily posted below the market clearing price. Scarcity resulted in either case. Price controls fail to achieve their proximate aim, which is to reduce prices paid by retail consumers, but such controls do manage to reduce supply.

Nobel prize winner Milton Friedman said "We economists don't know much, but we do know how to create a shortage. If you want to create a shortage of tomatoes, for example, just pass a law that retailers can't sell tomatoes for more than two cents per pound. Instantly you'll have a tomato shortage. It's the same with oil or gas."

U.S. President Richard Nixon's Secretary of the Treasury, George Shultz, enacting Nixon's "New Economic Policy," lifted price controls that had begun in 1971 (part of the Nixon Shock). This lifting of price controls resulted in a rapid increase in prices. Price freezes were re-established five months later. Stagflation was eventually ended in the United States when the Federal Reserve under chairman Paul Volcker raised interest rates to unusually high levels. This successfully ended high inflation but caused a recession that ended in the early 1980s.