Price gouging is the practice of increasing the prices of goods, services, or commodities to a level much higher than is considered reasonable or fair. Usually, this event occurs after a demand or supply shock. This commonly applies to price increases of basic necessities after natural disasters. In legal usage, price gouging is a crime that applies in some jurisdictions of the United States during civil emergencies. In less precise usage, the term can also be used to refer to profits obtained by practices inconsistent with a competitive free market, or to windfall profits. Price gouging is considered by some to be exploitative and unethical. Price gouging is similar to profiteering but can be distinguished by being short-term and localized and by being restricted to essentials such as food, clothing, shelter, medicine, and equipment needed to preserve life and property. In jurisdictions where there is no such crime, the term may still be used to pressure firms to refrain from such behavior. The term is used directly in laws and regulations in the United States and Canada, but legislation exists internationally with similar regulatory purpose under existing competition laws. The term is not in widespread use in mainstream economic theory, but it is sometimes used to refer to practices of a coercive monopoly that raises prices above the market rate that would otherwise prevail in a competitive environment. Alternatively, it may refer to suppliers' benefiting to excess from a short-term change in the demand curve. Price gouging became highly prevalent in news media in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, when state price gouging regulations went into effect due to the national emergency. The rise in public discourse was associated with increased shortages related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Laws against price gouging United States In the United States, state laws against price gouging have been held as constitutional at the state level as a valid exercise of the police power to preserve order during an emergency, and may be combined with anti-hoarding measures. As of March 2021, 42 states have emergency regulations or price-gouging statutes Price-gouging is often defined in terms of the three criteria listed below: Period of emergency: The majority of laws apply only to price shifts during a declared state of emergency or disaster. Necessary items: Most laws apply exclusively to items essential to survival, such as food, water, and housing. Price ceilings: Laws limit the maximum