Moody’s Chief Economist: Price Gouging Isn’t a ‘Significant Factor’ in High Inflation

On Tuesday’s broadcast of C-SPAN’s “Washington Journal,” Moody’s Analytics Chief Economist Mark Zandi stated that price gouging is not “a significant factor here in the high inflation that we’re observing,” and “I don’t think the reason why consumer price inflation is close to 8% year-over-year is because of price gouging.”

Zandi stated, “The oversight that is required to address potential price gouging, that lies with Congress and the administration, and they need to shine — continue to shine a bright light on potential bad practices. And you may recall, the administration did that with the meatpacking industry back a few months ago when meat prices were moving up very quickly, calling out the industry as potentially raising prices because they had market power. Because the industry’s concentrated in the hands of just a couple, three different, four different meatpackers nationwide. So, that job, that task falls upon lawmakers, Congress and the administration, and their oversight responsibilities.”

He continued, “I will say though, in the long list of reasons for why inflation is high, and at the top of the reasons is, again, the pandemic and the disruptions created by the pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the disruptions created by that, but there is a long list. I would put bad business behavior, the price gouging…at the bottom of the list. I don’t think that is a significant factor here in the high inflation that we’re observing, not that lawmakers shouldn’t be focused on it…I don’t think the reason why consumer price inflation is close to 8% year-over-year is because of price gouging.”

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