Price Controls, Subsidies, and the Risks of Good Intentions: Crash Course Economics #20

So, during times of inflation or deflation, why doesn’t the government just set prices? It sounds reasonable, but price ceilings or floors just don’t work. Adriene and Jacob explain why. Subsidies, however, are a little different, and sometimes they even work. We’ll also explain that. Today you’ll learn about stuff like price controls, deadweight loss, subsidies, and efficiency. Crash Course is on Patreon! You can support us directly by signing up at Thanks to the following Patrons for their generous monthly contributions that help keep Crash Course free for everyone forever: Mark, Eric Kitchen, Jessica Wode, Jeffrey Thompson, Steve Marshall, Moritz Schmidt, Robert Kunz, Tim Curwick, Jason A Saslow, SR Foxley, Elliot Beter, Jacob Ash, Christian, Jan Schmid, Jirat, Christy Huddleston, Daniel Baulig, Chris Peters, Anna-Ester Volozh, Ian Dundore, Caleb Weeks -- Want to find Crash Course elsewhere on the internet? Faceboo