OGDEN, Utah – Laws banning price gouging aim to prevent exorbitant prices and increase access to critical goods during states of emergency, but newly published research from Weber State University’s Goddard School of Business & Economics suggests that these laws likely cause shortages, undermining some of their own goals. Published online early this week in the Journal of Private Enterprise, the research draws on publicly available internet search data from Google Trends. Titled “Anti-Gouging Laws, Shortages, and COVID-19: Insights From Consumer Searches,” the peer-reviewed article is co-authored by Gavin Roberts, assistant professor of economics at Weber State, and Rik Chakraborti, assistant professor of economics…