Why Are Gas Prices So High?

Art Carden

Art Carden is Associate Professor of Economics at Samford University’s Brock School of Business and a Senior Fellow with the American Institute for Economic Research. He is also a Research Fellow with the Independent Institute, a Senior Fellow with the Beacon Center of Tennessee, and a Senior Research Fellow with the Institute for Faith, Work, and Economics. His main areas of research are southern economic history, the history and philosophy of economic ideas, and the effects of “Big Box” retailers like Walmart and Costco. He is a regular contributor to Forbes​.com and a number of other outlets.

The common explanation for rising gas prices makes an exciting news story: Villainous oil companies are taking advantage of helpless consumers. Prof. Art Carden explains that this popular story is inaccurate. Gas prices go up and down based on the laws of supply and demand. Political problems, such as barriers to the development of new sources and new energy sources, also contribute to rising prices. Gas prices would be lower if we didn’t have such barriers. Prices would also be lower if demand were not artificially increased through war and other wasteful expenditures.

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