Washington, D.C. – The Cato Institute (Cato) today publishes a new book, The War on Prices: How Popular Misconceptions about Inflation, Prices, and Value Create Bad Policy. Edited by Cato’s Ryan Bourne, the R. Evan Scharf Chair for the Public Understanding of Economics, the multi‐​author volume slays popular misconceptions about the recent inflation, documents the harmful consequences of government price controls, and pushes back on the faulty arguments driving these interventions.

This comprehensive analysis of inflation, price controls, and value debunks many contemporary myths. It shows, for example, that:

  • The recent inflation was primarily caused by excessive macroeconomic stimulus, not corporate greed or “supply shocks” like the pandemic or the war in Ukraine.
  • Politicians have deflected blame for inflation onto businesses, encouraging a “war on prices” through damaging proposals against “price gouging,” “junk fees,” and “shrinkflation.”
  • Federal, state, and local governments already cap rents, interest rates, prices amid emergencies, and more, delivering price controls that history shows create shortages, lower quality products, and black markets, all of which can harm low‐​income communities.
  • Both the “pink tax” (women paying more for similar products) and the “gender pay gap” (women being paid less than men, on average) overwhelmingly reflect choices families make, not business “sexism.”
  • Uber‐​style dynamic pricing, far from being something customers should fear, can be highly beneficial to consumers in a range of sectors.

“Here is your go‐​to book on rising prices, price controls, and other government policies toward prices,” said Tyler Cowen, Holbert L. Harris Chair of Economics at George Mason University.

“I do not agree with the conclusion of every chapter of this volume, but I agree with most of them,” Jason Furman, former chair of the Council of Economic Advisers under President Obama said, “And all of them are grounded in the type of rigorous economics and empirics that are sadly missing in too much of the popular debate.

About the Editor

Ryan A. Bourne occupies the R. Evan Scharf Chair for the Public Understanding of Economics at the Cato Institute and is a columnist for The Times (UK). He has extensive broadcast and print media experience and has appeared on CNN, CNBC, BBC News, Sky News, and Fox Business Network.

Other Contributors

Brian Albrecht, Pedro Aldighieri, Nicholas Anthony, David Beckworth, Eamonn Butler, Vanessa Brown Calder, Michael Cannon, Jeffrey Clemens, Bryan Cutsinger, Alex Edmans, Peter Jaworski, Pierre Lemieux, Deirdre McCloskey, Jeffrey Miron, Liya Palagashvili, Joseph Sabia, J. R. Shackleton, Peter Van Doren, and Stan Veuger

Available May 14th
To request a complimentary review copy or speak to a contributor, please contact pr@​cato.​org or 202–789-5200