![A woman shops for groceries with a motorized shopping cart.](https://www.uc.edu/news/articles/2024/08/n21270666/jcr:content/image.img.cq5dam.thumbnail.500.500.jpg/1724165526186.jpg)
Campaign proposals could have unintended economic effects
UC economist tells ABC News that efforts to help Americans could lead to higher prices, scarcity
Government interventions that would attempt to help consumers could lead to other problems, a University of Cincinnati economist told ABC News.
Michael Jones, PhD, assistant professor of economics
Vice President Kamala Harris has unveiled the economic agenda for her presidential campaign, which includes a ban on grocery price gouging, a $25,000 subsidy for first-time homebuyers and child tax credits. To evaluate the proposals, ABC News turned to economists including Michael Jones, PhD, assistant professor of economics in the University of Cincinnati's Carl H. Lindner College of Business.
Jones said Harris’ strategy to deal with inflation through a price-gouging ban could lead to scarcity of goods.
"If there's a restriction on the prices that companies can charge for products, they simply won't supply them," he said.
A subsidy for homebuyers could cause sellers to boost their asking prices, negating any benefit for the buyers, Jones said.
"If they have $25,000 more to spend on a house, they'll submit bids up to $25,000 higher for the home," he said. "That policy in particular is a bad idea because it won't bring the price of housing down."
Featured image at top: A woman shops for groceries with a motorized shopping cart. Photo/Amigo Mobility via Unsplash
Impact Lives Here
The University of Cincinnati is leading public urban universities into a new era of innovation and impact. Our faculty, staff and students are saving lives, changing outcomes and bending the future in our city's direction. Next Lives Here.
Related Stories
WCPO: UC economist says wages can’t keep up with inflation
March 22, 2022
Multiple disruptions to the U.S. economy are posing problems for consumers, according to Michael Jones, PhD, associate professor of economics at the University of Cincinnati Carl H. Lindner College of Business.
The benefits and downsides for 'forever renters'
May 29, 2024
![Business Insider logo](/content/dam/refresh/uc-news/news-icons/dark/business-insider.png)
A growing number of people expect to rent their entire lives instead of buying a home, which presents potential benefits and downsides for these “forever renters,” University of Cincinnati professors told Business Insider.
Spectrum News 1: Inflation reaches 40-year high
April 13, 2022
A number of factors have caused inflation to reach a 40-year high, but it won’t be a permanent problem, University of Cincinnati economics professor Asawari Deshmukh told Spectrum News 1.