State Price Gouging Laws And Price Controls: A Historical View On A Questionable Objective

Price gouging laws have become more relevant than ever, but a historical review reveals that price gouging laws may be a historically recent, and misguided development. It was not until 1979 that New York State enacted the nation's first law explicitly targeted at price gouging.

In response to the heating oil shortages during the winter of 1978-1979, New York enacted the first state price gouging law. The law provided that "the inability of these persons [heating oil consumers] to pay for home heating oil will result in severe hardship, especially among the elderly and the very young, and could result in the loss of lives." (New York Assembly Bill 25, 1979). Specifically, under the NY statute: