Editing Inflation (section)

=== Wage and price controls ===

{{See also|Incomes policy}}
Another method attempted in the past have been wage and [[price controls]] ("incomes policies"). Temporary price controls may be used as a complement to other policies to fight inflation; price controls may make disinflation faster, while reducing the need for unemployment to reduce inflation. If price controls are used during a recession, the kinds of distortions that price controls cause may be lessened. However, economists generally advise against the imposition of price controls.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Why Price Controls Should Stay in the History Books |url=https://www.stlouisfed.org/publications/regional-economist/2022/mar/why-price-controls-should-stay-history-books |access-date=2024-09-05 |website=www.stlouisfed.org |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Committee |first=United States Joint Economic |title=The Economics of Price Controls - The Economics of Price Controls - United States Joint Economic Committee |url=https://www.jec.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/republicans/2022/9/the-economics-of-price-controls |access-date=2024-09-05 |website=www.jec.senate.gov |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Price Controls: Still A Bad Idea |url=https://www.hoover.org/research/price-controls-still-bad-idea |access-date=2024-09-05 |website=Hoover Institution |language=en}}</ref>

Wage and price controls, in combination with rationing, have been used successfully in wartime environments. However, their use in other contexts is far more mixed. Notable failures of their use include [[Nixon shock|the 1972 imposition of wage and price controls]] by [[Richard Nixon]]. More successful examples include the [[The Accord|Prices and Incomes Accord]] in Australia and the [[Wassenaar Agreement]] in the [[Netherlands]].

In general, wage and price controls are regarded as a temporary and exceptional measures, only effective when coupled with policies designed to reduce the underlying causes of inflation during the [[Wage and price controls|wage and price]] control regime, for example, winning the war being fought.