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Regulation and Antitrust Law Principles of Microeconomic Theory, ECO 284 John Eastwood CBA 247 523-7353 e-mail address: [email protected] 1 Learning Objectives • Define regulation and antitrust law • Distinguish between the public interest and capture theories of regulation • Explain how regulation affects prices, outputs, profits, and the distribution of the gains from trade between consumers and producers 2 Learning Objectives (cont.) • Explain how antitrust law has been applied in a number of landmark cases • Explain how antitrust law is used today 3 Learning Objectives • Define regulation and antitrust law • Distinguish between the public interest and capture theories of regulation • Explain how regulation affects prices, outputs, profits, and the distribution of the gains from trade between consumers and producers 4 Market Intervention • Government intervention in the monopolistic and oligopolistic markets • Regulation • Antitrust law 5 Market Intervention • Regulation • Rules administered by a government agency to influence economic activity • Antitrust Law • Laws that regulate and prohibit certain kinds of market behavior 6 Learning Objectives • Define regulation and antitrust law • Distinguish between the public interest and capture theories of regulation • Explain how regulation affects prices, outputs, profits, and the distribution of the gains from trade between consumers and producers 7 Economic Theory of Regulation • Four Factors Affecting the Demand for Regulation • Consumer surplus per buyer • Number of buyers • Producer surplus per firm • Number of firms 8 Economic Theory of Regulation • Three Factors Affecting the Supply of Regulation • Consumer surplus generated per buyer • Producer surplus generated per firm • The number of voters benefited 9 Economic Theory of Regulation • Political Equilibrium • The amount of regulation is such that no interest group finds it worthwhile to press for changes and no group of politicians finds it worthwhile to offer different regulations. 10 Economic Theory of Regulation • Political Equilibrium • Public Interest Theory • Regulations are supplied to satisfy the demand of consumers and producers to maximize total surplus • Capture Theory • Regulations are supplied to satisfy the demand of producers to maximize producer surplus--maximize economic profit. 11 Regulation and Deregulation • Numerous regulatory agencies have been developed since 1887. • Since 1977, industry has been going through a gradual process of deregulation. 12 Regulation and Deregulation • The Regulatory Process • Bureaucrats are appointed • Agencies adopt a set of practices and rules • Agency grant certification to a company • Price and Quantity Regulation 13 Regulation and Deregulation • Natural Monopoly • Industry in which one firm can supply the entire market at a lower cost than two or more firms can 14 Regulation and Deregulation • Marginal Cost Pricing Rule • Sets price equal to marginal cost • If the Firm Incurs a Loss • Price discrimination • Two-part tariff • Subsidy 15 Learning Objectives • Define regulation and antitrust law • Distinguish between the public interest and capture theories of regulation • Explain how regulation affects prices, outputs, profits, and the distribution of the gains from trade between consumers and producers 16 Price & Cost (dollars per household per month) Natural Monopoly: Marginal Cost Pricing 30 25 20 15 ATC 10 MC D 0 2 4 6 8 10 Quantity (millions of households) 17 Price & Cost (dollars per household per month) Natural Monopoly: Marginal Cost Pricing 30 25 20 15 Loss per household Total surplus ATC 10 MC D 0 2 4 6 8 10 Quantity (millions of households) 18 Regulation and Deregulation • Average Cost Pricing Rule • Sets price equal to average total cost • Firm Earns a Normal Profit 19 Price & Cost (dollars per household per month) Natural Monopoly: Average Cost Pricing 30 25 20 15 ATC 10 MC D 0 2 4 6 8 10 Quantity (millions of households) 20 Price & Cost (dollars per household per month) Natural Monopoly: Average Cost Pricing 30 25 20 15 Consumer surplus ATC Producer surplus 10 MC Deadweight loss 0 2 4 D 6 8 10 Quantity (millions of households) 21 Regulation and Deregulation • Capturing the Regulator • Maximizes profit 22 Price & Cost (dollars per household per month) Natural Monopoly Profit Maximization 30 25 20 18 15 ATC 10 MC MR 0 2 4 6 D 8 10 Quantity (millions of households) 23 Price & Cost (dollars per household per month) Natural Monopoly Profit Maximization 30 Consumer surplus 25 20 18 15 Deadweight loss Economic profit ATC 10 MC MR 0 2 4 6 D 8 10 Quantity (millions of households) 24 Regulation and Deregulation • How do agencies determine a regulated price? • Answer: Rate of Return Regulation 25 Regulation and Deregulation • Rate of Return Regulation • Sets price that enables the firm to earn a specific percent of return on its capital • Inflating Costs • Firms will be motivated report costs as high as possible. 26 Price & Cost (dollars per household per month) Natural Monopoly: Inflating Costs 30 25 20 18 15 ATC (inflated) 10 MC ATC MR 0 2 4 6 D 8 10 Quantity (millions of households) 27 Price & Cost (dollars per household per month) Natural Monopoly: Inflating Costs 30 Profit is maximized 25 20 18 15 ATC (inflated) Economic profit ATC 10 MC MR 0 2 4 6 D 8 10 Quantity (millions of households) 28 Regulation and Deregulation • Incentive Regulation Schemes • Gives a firm an incentive to operate efficiently and keep costs under control. • Public Interest or Capture? • Not completely clear which one • Both predict Price exceeds MC • Except for local phone service… 29 Rate of Return in Regulated Monopolies Industry Electricity Years 1962–69 1970–77 3.2 6.1 Gas 3.3 8.2 Railroad 5.1 7.2 Average of above 3.9 7.2 Economy Average 6.6 5.1 30 Gains from Deregulating Natural Monopolies Consumer Producer Total surplus surplus surplus Industry Railroads Telecommunications Cable television Total (billions of 1990 dollars) 8.5 1.2 0.8 10.5 3.2 0.0 0.0 3.2 11.7 1.2 0.8 13.7 31 Price & Cost (dollars per trip) Collusive Oligopoly 50 40 Producer interest regulation MC 30 Public interest regulation 20 10 D MR 0 100 200 300 400 500 Quantity (number of trips) 33 Rates of Return in Regulated Oligopolies Industry Airlines Trucking Economy Average Years 1962–69 1970–77 12.8 3.0 13.6 8.1 6.6 5.1 34 Gains from Deregulating Oligopolies Consumer Producer Total surplus surplus surplus Industry Airlines Trucking Total (billions of 1990 dollars) 11.8 15.4 27.2 4.9 -4.8 0.1 16.7 10.6 27.3 35 Regulation and Deregulation • Making Predictions • Why were the transportation and telecommunications industries deregulated? • Economists became more confident and vocal • We can expect to see more deregulation. 36 Learning Objectives (cont.) • Explain how antitrust law has been applied in a number of landmark cases • Explain how antitrust law is used today 37 Antitrust Laws Name of law Year Passed Sherman Act 1890 Clayton Act Robinson-Patman Amendment Cellar-Kefauver Amendment 1914 1936 1950 What the law prohibits *Combination, trust or conspiracy to restrict interstate or international trade. * Monopolization or attempt to monopolize interstate or international trade * Price discrimination if the effect is to substantially lessen competition or create monopoly and if such discrimination is not justified by cost differences * Contracts force other goods to be bought from same firm * Acquisition of competitors’ shares or assets * Interlocking directorships among competing firms 38 Antitrust Laws Name of law Federal Trade Commission Act Year Passed 1914 What the law prohibits * Unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive business practices 39 Landmark Antitrust Cases • Federal Trade Commission was established in 1914 to enforce the antitrust laws. • Rule of reason • Monopolies arising from mergers and agreements are not necessarily illegal. • Vertical and Horizontal Integration were found to be illegal 40 Landmark Antitrust Cases Case Year Verdict and consequence American Tobacco and Standard Oil Co. 1911 Guilty: Ordered to divest themselves of Large holdings in other companies: “rule of reason” enunciated--only unreasonable combinations guilty under Sherman Act. U.S. Steel Co. 1920 Not Guilty: U.S. Steel had a very large market share (near monopoly), mere size alone is not an offense”; application of the “rule of reason.” Socony-Vacuum Oil Co. 1940 Guilty: Combination was formed for price fixing; no consideration of “reasonableness” applied. 41 Landmark Antitrust Cases Case Year Verdict and consequence Alcoa 1945 Guilty: Too big--had too large a share of the market; end of “rule of reason.” General Electric, Westinghouse & others 1961 Guilty: Price-fixing conspiracy; executives fined and jailed Brown Shoe 1962 Guilty: Ownership of Kinney, a retail chain, reduced competition; ordered to sell Kinney shoes, (Brown supplied 8 percent of Kinney's and Kinney sold 2 percent of nations shoes) Von’s Grocery 1965 Guilty: Merger of two supermarkets in Los Angeles would restrain competition (themerged firm would have had 7.5 percent of the L.A. market). 42 Landmark Antitrust Cases Case Year Verdict and consequence IBM 1982 Case dismissed as being “without merit.” AT&T 1983 Agreement between AT&T and government that the company would divest itself of all local telephone operating companies --80 % of its assets. 43 Learning Objectives (cont.) • Explain how antitrust law has been applied in a number of landmark cases • Explain how antitrust law is used today 44 Landmark Antitrust Cases • Three Recent Antitrust Cases • IBM • AT&T • Microsoft 45 Landmark Antitrust Cases • Current Merger Rules • The Department of Justice uses the HerfindahlHirschmand (HHI) to evaluate mergers. • Less than 1,000 — competitive • 1,000 to 1,800 — moderately concentrated • challenged if merger would increase the index by 100 points • above 1,800 — concentrated market • challenged if merger would increase the index by 50 points 46 The HHI Merger Guidelines 47 Proposed Mergers (1986) • Market definition • Narrow: carbonated soft drinks HHI > 2400 – highly concentrated • • • • • Coke 39% PepsiCo 28% Dr Pepper 7% 7-Up 6% RJR 5% • Market definition • Broad: carbonated soft drinks, fruit juices and bottle water sold by these four companies • HHI 120 – highly competitive • Dept. of Justice chose the narrow definition & blocked both mergers 48 Landmark Antitrust Cases • Is the public interest served? • Original intent was to protect and pursue the public interest • However, the interest of the producer sometimes comes into play. • Is our court system more likely to serve the public interest than our regulators? 49