Customers Complain of Price Gouging as Hand Sanitizer Sells Out in Stores The spread of coronavirus has sparked panic buying of hand sanitizer. Frances Steciuk said she found 60-ml bottles of hand sanitizer sell- ing for $3.99 each in Toronto but didn't buy it because she felt the price was inflated. Canada's Competition Bureau said it couldn't reveal if it's investigating the issue. Source: cbc.ca, March 11, 2020

a. Is the rising price of hand sanitizer an example of price gouging or of competitive markets doing their job of allocating scarce resources? Explain.

b. Is the rising price of hand sanitizer fair?

c. Is prohibiting the price of hand sanitizer from rising during the coronavirus outbreak fair?