Profiteering Explained

Profiteering is a pejorative term for the act of making a profit by methods considered unethical.^{[1] [2]}

Overview

Business owners may be accused of profiteering when they raise prices during an emergency (especially a war).^[3] The term is also applied to businesses that play on political corruption to obtain government contracts.

Some types of profiteering are illegal, such as price fixing^[4] syndicates, for example on fuel subsidies (see British Airways price-fixing allegations), and other anti-competitive behaviour. Some are restricted by industry codes of conduct, e.g. aggressive marketing of products in the Third World such as baby milk (see Nestlé boycott).

Types of profiteering

• Price fixing
• Price gouging
• War profiteering

Laws

Profiteering is illegal in several countries, including but not limited to:

• UK: Chapter 1 of the Competition Act 1998
• Germany: § 291 StGB (Criminal Code) – up to 10 years' jail maximum penalty
• Austria: § 154 StGB – up to 5 years' jail maximum penalty

See also

• Enshittification
• Hoarding (economics)
• Business ethics
• Price gouging
• Product sabotage
• Rent seeking
• Supracompetitive pricing
• Ticket scalping
• Usury

Example cases

• British Airways price-fixing allegations

Notes and References

1. Web site: Profiteering . Oxford Learners Dictionaries .
2. Book: Ray . S. K. . Polity And Economy Of The Underworld . 2004 . PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd . 978-8120325777.
3. Book: Hughes . Solomon . War on Terror, Inc: corporate profiteering from the politics of fear . Verso . 2007 . 978-1844671236 . registration .
4. Book: Neuwirth . Robert . Stealth of Nations: The Global Rise of the Informal Economy . Random House Digital, Inc. . 2011 . 978-0307906809.