Dollars and Sense: Exposing unfair pricing
Dollars and Sense: Exposing unfair pricing
This talk explores “price gouging” in oligopolistic industries. Drawing from Australian examples, it illustrates how determining who is responsible for market power-related inefficiencies—whether from consumer or producer behaviour—is fundamental to defining and identifying price gouging. I then discuss how recent competition policy reforms in Australia and global changes in data availability and artificial intelligence shape firms' willingness and ability to price gouge. I close by discussing the future role of government in enabling pro-competitive pricing in our increasingly digital economy through information aggregation and market design.
About the Speaker
Professor David Byrne is Professor of Economics at the University of Melbourne, where he holds the Ritchie Chair of Economic Research. Professor Byrne does empirical research in industrial organisation and behavioural economics, focusing on digital, energy, and resource markets. He is also an Associate Editor of the International Journal of Industrial Organisation, executive committee member of the Asia-Pacific Industrial Organisation Society and European Association for Research in Industrial Economics, member of the Australian Competition Tribunal, and has served as an expert on antitrust cases and market design inquiries in various countries.
