Profiteering is a pejorative term for the act of making a profit by methods considered unethical.
Overview
Business owners may be accused of profiteering when they raise prices during an emergency (especially a war). 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 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
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
References
- "Profiteering". Oxford Learners Dictionaries.
- Ray, S. K. (2004). Polity And Economy Of The Underworld. PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd. ISBN 978-8120325777.
- Hughes, Solomon (2007). War on Terror, Inc: corporate profiteering from the politics of fear. Verso. ISBN 978-1844671236.
- Neuwirth, Robert (2011). Stealth of Nations: The Global Rise of the Informal Economy. Random House Digital, Inc. ISBN 978-0307906809.
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