Why price gouging during crisis doesn't work:
The people [Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman] surveyed said they would punish businesses that raised prices in ways that seemed unfair. While I would have paid twice the normal price for my groceries yesterday, I would have felt like I was getting ripped off. After the storm passed, I might have started getting my groceries somewhere else. Businesses know this. And, Kahneman argues, when basic economic theory conflicts with peoples' perception of fairness, it's in a firm's long-term interest to behave in a way that people think is fair.
So when my grocery store re-opens after the hurricane, the price of a can of beans will probably be the same as it was last week, even if there's a line out the door and empty shelves inside.
The Dish 