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Els '''Controls de preus''' són restriccions governamentals sobre els preus que es poden cobrar dels béns i serveis en un mercat. L'objectiu d'implementar aquests conrols prové del desig de mantenir l'assequibilitat dels béns, evitar l'escassetat, reduir la inflació or assegurar un ingrés mínim als proveïdors de certs béns. Hi ha dos tipus principals de control de preus, el price ceiling, el preu màxim que es pot cobrar, y el pice floor, el preu mínim que es pot cobrar.
Encara que els controls de preus són utilitzats pels governs, els economistes en general consideren que els controls no compleixen l'objectiu pel que s'implementen i s'haurien d'evitar.<ref name="concise">{{cite encyclopedia |last1=Rockoff |first1=Hugh |authorlink1= |last2= |first2= |authorlink2= |editor=[[David R. Henderson]] (ed.) |encyclopedia=[[The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics]] |title=Price Controls|url=http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/PriceControls.html |year=2008 |edition= 2nd |publisher=[[Library of Economics and Liberty]] |location=Indianapolis |isbn=978-0865976658 |oclc=237794267}}</ref>
==Història==
L'emperador romà [[Dioclecià]] va promulgar l'[[Edicte sobre els preus màxims]], el qual fixava els preus màxims de més de 1300 productes, a finals del segle III d.C. amb poc èxit. Durant la [[Revolució Francesa]], la Law of the Maximum limitava el preu del menjar.
====United Kingdom====
The [[National Board for Prices and Incomes]] was created by the government of [[Harold Wilson]] in 1965 in an attempt to solve the problem of inflation in the British economy by managing wages and prices. The [[Prices and Incomes Act 1966]] c. 33 affected UK labour law, regarding wage levels and price policies. It allowed the government to begin a process to scrutinise rising levels of wages (then around 8% per year) by initiating reports and inquiries and ultimately giving orders for a standstill. The objective was to control inflation. It proved unpopular after the 1960s.
====United States====
States have sometimes chosen to implement their own control policies. [[California]] controls the prices of [[electricity]] within the state, which conservative economist [[Thomas Sowell]] blames for the occasional electricity shortages the state experiences.<ref name="sowell">{{cite news| last = Sowell| first = Thomas| coauthor =| title = The Cause of the California Electricity Shortages: "Price Controls"| work = Capitalism Magazine| date = 2001-01-11| url = http://www.capmag.com/article.asp?ID=86| accessdate = 2008-11-03}}</ref> Sowell said in 2001, "Since the utility companies have been paying more for electricity than they were allowed to charge their customers, they were operating in the red and the financial markets are downgrading their bonds."<ref name="sowell"/> California's price-setting board agreed to raise rates but not as much as the companies were paying on the wholesale market for their electricity.<ref name="pbs2">
{{cite news| last =| first =| coauthor =| title = Power problems| work = [[NewsHour with Jim Lehrer]]| publisher=[[PBS]]| date = 2001-01-04| url = http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/business/jan-june01/california_1-4_audio.html| accessdate = 2008-11-06}}</ref> Economist Lawrence Makovich contended, "We've already seen in California that price caps on retail rates increased demand and made the shortage worse and price caps also forced the largest utility, Pacific Gas and Electric, into bankruptcy in four months."<ref name="pbs3">
{{cite news| last =| first =| coauthor =| title = Power struggle| work = NewsHour with Jim Lehrer| publisher=PBS
| date = 2001-06-20| url = http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/environment/jan-june01/energy_6-20.html
| accessdate = 2008-11-06 }}</ref> While some charged that electricity providers had in past years charged above-market rates,<ref name="pbs3"/> in 2002 the ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]'' reported that before the blackouts, many energy providers left the state because they could make a greater profit in other Western states.<ref name="sfgate">
{{cite news| last = Martin| first = Mark| coauthor =| title = Memos show makings of power crisis| work = [[San Francisco Chronicle]]
| date = 2002-05-10| url = http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/Memos-show-makings-of-power-crisis-State-sought-2839123.php
| accessdate = 2008-11-06}}</ref> The [[Federal Energy Regulatory Commission]] stepped in and set [[price ceiling|price caps]] for each [[megawatt]] of power bought after lifting the caps to avoid [[rolling blackout]]s six months previously.<ref name="sfgate"/>
The state of [[Hawaii]] briefly introduced a cap on the wholesale price of [[gasoline]] (the [[Gas Cap Law]]) in an effort to fight "[[price gouging]]" in that state in 2005. Because it was widely seen as too soft and ineffective, it was repealed shortly thereafter.<ref> the well of natal</ref>
==Criticism==
The primary criticism leveled against price controls is that by keeping prices artificially low, demand is increased to the point where supply can not keep up, leading to shortages in the price-controlled product.<ref name="Wessels">Walter J. Wessels, ''Economics'' (2000), pp. 232–33.</ref> For example, [[Lactantius]] wrote that [[Diocletian]] "by various taxes he had made all things exceedingly expensive, attempted by a law to limit their prices. Then much blood [of merchants] was shed for trifles, men were afraid to offer anything for sale, and the scarcity became more excessive and grievous than ever. Until, in the end, the [price limit] law, after having proved destructive to many people, was from mere necessity abolished."<ref>{{cite book|url=http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf07.iii.v.vii.html|title=On the Deaths of the Persecutors|author=[[Lactantius]]|work=ca. 300|chapter=CHAP. VII. |publisher=Calvin College |edition=Christian Classics Ethereal Library}}</ref> As with Diocletian's [[Edict on Maximum Prices]], shortages lead to [[black market]]s where prices for the same good exceed those of an uncontrolled market.<ref name="Wessels"/> Furthermore, once controls are removed, prices will immediately increase, which can temporarily shock the economic system.<ref name="Wessels"/>
A classic example of how price controls cause shortages was during the [[1973 world oil market chronology|Arab oil embargo between October 19, 1973 and March 17, 1974]]. Long lines of cars and trucks quickly appeared at retail gas stations in the U.S. and some stations closed because of a shortage of fuel at the low price set by the [[U.S. Cost of Living Council]]. The fixed price was below what the market would otherwise bear and, as a result, the inventory disappeared. It made no difference whether prices were voluntarily or involuntarily posted below the market clearing price. Scarcity resulted in either case. Price controls fail to achieve their proximate aim, which is to reduce prices paid by retail consumers, but such controls do manage to reduce supply.<ref>Taylor and Van Doren, pp. 26–28</ref><ref>Thomas Sowell, ''Applied Economics: Thinking Beyond Stage One'' (2008), pp. 7–9, 112–13, {{ISBN|0-465-00345-1}}</ref>
[[Nobel Prize in Economics|Nobel prize]] winner [[Milton Friedman]] said "We economists don't know much, but we do know how to create a shortage. If you want to create a shortage of tomatoes, for example, just pass a law that retailers can't sell tomatoes for more than two cents per pound. Instantly you'll have a tomato shortage. It's the same with oil or gas."<ref>"Controls blamed for U.S. energy woes", ''Los Angeles Times'', February 13, 1977, Milton Friedman press conference in Los Angeles.</ref>
U.S. President [[Richard Nixon]]'s [[Secretary of the Treasury]], [[George Shultz]], enacting Nixon's "New Economic Policy," lifted price controls that had begun in 1971 (part of the [[Nixon Shock]]). This lifting of price controls resulted in a rapid increase in prices. Price freezes were re-established five months later.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.treasury.gov/about/history/Pages/gpschultz.aspx |title=George P. Shultz (1972–1974) |publisher=Treasury.gov |date=2010-11-20 |accessdate=2013-09-27}}</ref> [[Stagflation]] was eventually ended in the United States when the Federal Reserve under chairman [[Paul Volcker]] raised interest rates to unusually high levels. This successfully ended high inflation but caused a recession that ended in the early 1980s.
== Referències ==
{{Referències}}
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