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Chapter 13: Antitrust and Regulation. Antitrust policy. Sherman Act (1890) Outlaws contracts and conspiracies in restraint of trade Forbids monopolization Does not describe what is prohibited Clayton Act (1914) Bans price discrimination designed to limit competition
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Antitrust policy • Sherman Act (1890) • Outlaws contracts and conspiracies in restraint of trade • Forbids monopolization • Does not describe what is prohibited • Clayton Act (1914) • Bans price discrimination designed to limit competition • Prohibits tying and exclusive dealing contracts • Federal Trade Commission Act (1914) • Established the FTC to administer antitrust laws
Antitrust enforcement • 1890-1914 – little enforcement • Through 1945 – “rule of reason” – size alone was not sufficient evidence of an antitrust violation • 1945 – Alcoa case – per se rule • 1980s – return to rule of reason • 1990s – stricter enforcement • 2000 onward – less strict enforcement
Herfindahl index • Herfindahl index = sum of squared market shares (as percentages) (varies from 0 to 10,000) • Justice Department guidelines • < 1000 – highly competitive • Between 1000 and 1800 – moderately competitive • > 1800 – highly concentrated
Global antitrust • Growing volume of international trade makes antitrust regulation more complex (due to different laws in different countries)
Other regulation • Economic regulation • Antitrust laws • Laws affecting price and output • Social regulation • Health and safety standards • Workplace safety • Environmental standards • Etc.
Costs and benefits of regulations • Cost estimates are in the range of $400 - $800 billions • Benefits – gains to society
Deregulation • airlines and trucking – 1970s • Banking – 1980s
SEC • Securities and Exchange Commission – created in 1934 • Requires reporting of annual financial reports in standard format • Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 • Auditing and consulting services must be provided by different firms. • Required the CEO to sign financial statements