Industrial regulation
Industrial regulation is a scenario where the government regulates an entire industry for instance the oil or banking industry. It does so by putting in place rules and regulations that govern the way the organizations in that industry conduct their business. Industrial regulation aims to make sure that no business entity can monopolize or merge with another to restrict trade.
Social regulations
Social regulations are regulations that seek to benefit the public interest. It requires that firms in an industry conform to no discrimination, safety of their product and services, and environment-friendly practices. The regulations benefit the users by making sure that the end-user only gets to use the best quality products, the firm does not discriminate on who it employs and the manufacturers on the other side do not pollute the environment which they use to operate in for the benefit of the society.
Entities affected are the general public, producers of goods and services, and their employees. This is due to the regulatory requirements which require the producers to abide by strict production standards and produce quality goods, protect the environment by not polluting it, and their employees are employed without discrimination and have a healthy working environment. The general public benefits by getting quality products and services, equal employment opportunities, and a clean environment.
Monopolies
Natural monopolies are monopolies that come up because of the nature and characteristics of the marketplace or production process in the industry but not due to government intervention in the marketplace with the aim of favoring a certain firm.
Antitrust Laws
Antitrust Laws are laws that are used to discourage unfair trade practices and seek to encourage fair competition in an industry. By doing so they prevent firms and an entire industry from forming agreements to unlawfully fix prices, mergers, and acquisitions that introduce a reduction in competition resulting in higher prices or low quality for customers, an exclusive contract where a seller sells to a buyer on the condition that the buyer will not purchase from the seller’s competitors and interlocking company boards where competitors appoint common members to their boards.
The major antitrust laws are:
- Sherman Antitrust act of 1890 was formed mainly in response to trust and pools in the railroad system which resulted in exploitive prices. It states that any contract, combination of contract in restrain of trade is illegal, and any person who monopolizes or shall attempt to monopolize is guilty of a misdemeanor.
- Clayton Antitrust Act added more clarity to the existing Sherman antitrust laws by prohibiting unfair trade acts like price discrimination, exclusionary contracts, and mergers and acquisitions aimed at monopolizing the industry.
- Federal Trade Commission Act. This act paved way for the formation of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) which formulates and enforces laws that prohibit unfair trade practices by the major firms in an industry.
- Robinson Patman Act of 1936 is a law that prohibits price discrimination. It requires a seller to sell the same product at the same price to different buyers to prevent large buyers from gaining an advantage over small buyers except in certain circumstances. It applies to the sale of tangible goods produced within a close timeframe and is sold in similar quality.
The three main regulatory commissions of industrial regulation are:
- The federal communication commission (FCC) was established in 1934 with oversight of radio, television, and telephones. It drafts new laws to ensure that the industry remains competitive, inspects and ensures quality is met and ethical practices adhere in the communication industry.
- Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), which was endorsed in 1930 and mandated to regulate electricity, gas, and water power. It regulates the transmission and sale of electricity gas and oil. It monitors and licenses and inspects private firms, municipal and state energy projects.
- And State Public utility commission is responsible for the regulation of electricity gas and telephone. It monitors the state of all public utilities and ensures that these services are accessible and in a consistent usable state to the public.
References
McConnell, C. R., & Brue, S. L., Flynn, S. (2012). Economics (19e). McGraw-Hill. ISBN: 9780077337865 (e-text provided at no charge to student) OR 9780073511443 (hard copy print edition optional student purchase)
Ball, D. A., McCulloch, W. H., Jr., Geringer, J. M., Minor, M. S., & McNett, J. M. (2009). International business: The challenge of global competition (12th ed.). McGraw-Hill. ISBN: 9780077318833.
Anderson, D.R., Sweeny, D.J., & Williams, T. A. (2010) Quantitative methods for business (11th ed.). South-Western, ISBN 0324651813 or 9780324651812.