A journalist in Venezuela encounters the real life effects of price controls, and documents in a day’s shopping what it’s like to buy eight common goods when the State dictates prices. [3 min]
“We used to produce rice and we had excellent coffee; now we produce nothing. With the situation here people abandoned the fields…”
–The Guardian: Venezuela food shortages: ‘No one can explain why a rich country has no food’
The post-WWII German economic miracle takes off, when economist Ludwig Erhard is put in charge of the economy and removes Allied-imposed controls on prices in defiance of the occupying Allied commanders. [4 min]
This Khan Academy AP Microeconomics video explains how price floors and ceilings interfere with the normal workings of free trade, resulting in shortages and surpluses. [8 min]
Milton Friedman explains why price controls don’t work as cure for inflation. [2 min]
Journalist John Stossel demonstrates how rent control creates housing shortages and ultimately drive rents higher. [5 min]
Is price gouging immoral? This animated short examines the question. [2 min]
How the battle at Valley Forge was undermined by price controls, and the lesson that was learned from it. [2 min]
How government attempts control prices lost the city of Antwerp to the Spanish in 1585. [2 min]
Tom Riddle Asks Professor Slughorn about price controls. [1 min]